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I A  1  IRARY 

niic 

University  of  California. 

GIFT   OF 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  i8q4. 
Accessions  No.  S*75^ho       Class  No. 


ROMANISM  AT  HOME. 


LETTERS 


TO     TH  E 


HON.  ROGER  B.  T-ANST, 

CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  T*H  E  UNITED  STATES, 


BY 


K  1  R  W  A  N. 


SIXTH    EDITION 


r. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    <k   BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
329    &    331    PEARL    STREET, 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 

185  4. 


BRSIT1 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-two,  by 


Harper  &  Brothers, 

""»  District  Cour 
«f  New  York. 


• 
in  the  OlerV'p  Ofllc  i  rf  V^<  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 


TO  ALL  MEN, 

WHETHER     PAPISTS     OR     PROTESTANTS, 

WHO    CAN 

READ,  REFLECT,  AND  REASON, 

WHO    DESIRE    THE    EXTENSION    OF 

CIVIL    AND    RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY, 

€§m  jDrttra  to  Urtiratrit. 

BY     THEIR    FRIEND, 

THE   AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  history  of  the  following  pages  is  very  soon  told. 
A  few  years  ago  I  addressed  some  letters  to  Bishop 
Hughes,  stating  my  objections  to  Popery,  confining  my- 
self mainly  to  its  unscriptural  and  absurd  doctrines.  A 
controversy  ensued,  upon  which  the  country  has  pro- 
nounced its  opinion.  My  objections  are  yet  unanswer- 
ed, and  are  likely  to  remain  so.  I  know  of  nothing 
that  promises  relief  to  the  good  bishop  save  a  "  wink- 
ing Madonna,"  which  the  alms  of  the  faithful,  if  liber- 
ally contributed,  can  readily  secure.  Any  thing  in  that 
line  is  supplied  to  order  at  Rome. 

Fatal  to  Popery  as  are  the  objections  drawn  from  its 
doctrines,  yet  more  fatal  are  those  drawn  from  its  "  ex- 
ternal arrangements,"  its  government,  its  despotism,  its 
spirit,  its  legends,  its  relics,  and  its  influence  on  the 
moral,  social,  and  political  interests  of  the  world.  I 
have  been  often  solicited  to  present  this  aspect  of  the 
subject  to  the  public ;  but  to  do  this  as  I  desired,  I 
must  needs  see  Romanism  at  home — I  must  visit  "  the 
Lady  of  the  Seven  Hills"  in  her  own  house,  where  she 
is  permitted  to  exercise  her  maternal  authority  just  as 
she  wills.  With  this  object  in  view,  I  made  a  flying 
visit  to  Europe  within  the  last  year,  in  company  with 
a  friend,  who  has  attained  a  distinguished  rank  in-the 
medical  profession,  and  who  witnessed  with  me  nearly 
all  the  scenes  on  the  Continent  described  in  these  let- 
ters, and  who  will  testify  that  they  are  not  overdrawn. 
The  present  volume  is  the  first  fruit  of  that  tour. 


VI  PREFACE. 

I  design  these  letters  to  be  an  appeal  from  the  priests 
to  the  people  of  the  Romish  faith ;  hence  I  address  them 
to  a  layman  of  that  faith.  Upon  the  face  of  the  earth 
there  is  no  people  so  robbed,  deluded,  and  degraded  by 
a  priesthood,  or  upon  whom  so  many  motives  and  in- 
terests are  pressing  to  assert  their  mental  and  spiritual 
independence. 

I  design  these  letters  to  reach  and  to  influence,  if 
possible,  the  men  of  education  and  influence  of  this 
land,  whether  Papists  or  Protestants.  Hence  I  address 
them  to  a  man  distinguished  for  his  mental  training, 
and  by  his  high  social  and  judicial  position.  No  greater 
curse  threatens  this  nation  than  the  spread  of  Roman- 
ism in  it.  Almost  any  other  evil  would  be  a  blessing 
in  comparison  with  this.  And  the  man  who  courts  the 
priest  to  get  the  votes  of  his  dupes — who  flatters  the 
spies  of  the  despots  of  Rome  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
their  assistance  to  vote  him  into  power,  should  be  re- 
garded as  selling  his  country  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 

I  speak  in  these  pages  as  I  feel  about  the  priests, 
and  as  all  must  feel  who  study  them  at  home,  and 
who  witness  the  outrages  they  commit,  and  the  lives 
which  they  lead.  If  any  complain  of  a  want  of  rev- 
erence, I  plead  guilty,  and  offer  as  my  excuse  an  un- 
conquerable besetting  sin  to  reverence  only  the  sincere 
and  the  true. 

No  new  thing  will  have  happened  unto  me  if  these 
letters  bring  upon  me  the  curses  of  the  priest.  I  will 
consider  it  a  sufficient  compensation  for  all  that,  if  they 
only  bring  upon  me  the  blessings  of  one  poor  soul  saved 
by  grace  from  their  wiles,  and  made  to  rejoice  in  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  Grod. 

March,  1852. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

Introductory. — Object  of  these  Letters. — Reasons  for  addressing  them 
to  Chief  Justice  Taney Page  13 

LETTER  II. 

The  Beginning  to  be  understood. — A  Church  of  God. — The  Jewish 
Church  became  Corrupt — had  Reformers  and  Reformations. — Mainly 
corrupted  by  Priests. —  The  Christian  Church  became  Corrupt  — 
through  what  Causes. — The  setting  up  of  Mohammedanism  and  Ro- 
manism.— Romanism  not  the  Church  Paul  found  in  Rome      —     20 

LETTER  III. 

The  Basilica  of  Saint  Peter's  a  Temple  of  Art,  not  a  Church. — A  Type 
of  the  Romish  Church. — Romanism  a  System  of  Policy  to  retain 
Power. — The  Power  it  claims — its  means  of  supporting  them..     27 

LETTER  IV. 

Romanism  not  the  Religion  of  the  New  Testament. — A  Combination 
of  various  political  Elements. — A  political  Compound. — Great  Delu 
sions  always  put  forth  monstrous  Claims. — Priestly  Pretensions  to 
be  spurned 35 

LETTER  V. 

Romanism  as  a  religious  System. — Naples. — St.  Paul  Major  a  Type  of 
the  Paganism  of  Romanism. — Holy  Water — how  made. — Its  Uses  and 
Ends. — St.  Anthony's  Day.— The  Origin  of  Holy  Water 42 

LETTER  VI. 

The  Sistine  Chapel. — Angelo's  Painting. — The  Artist's  Reply. — In- 
cense.— Its  Pagan  Origin. — Candles :  their  Use,  End,  and  Origin.— 
Candlemass  in  Rome. — The  Light  of  Candles  can  not  supply  the  Light 
ofTruth 50 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  VII. 
St.  Patrick  never  in  America. — Our  Poverty  in  Holy  Wells  and  Places. 
— The  Holy  Wells  at  Ballahadireen. — Ballina. — Downpatrick  Head. 
—  Their  Origin. —  The  Cell  of  St.  Mary  in  Via  Lata. —  The  Atroci- 
ty of  opening  fabulous  Wells,  and  suppressing  the  Fountains  of 
Truth , Page  58 

LETTER  VIII. 

The  Market-place  at  Naples. — A  ludicrous  Disaster  at  its  Gate. — Ima- 
ges every  where  revered. — Church  of  St.  Augustin. — Scene  witness- 
ed there. — The  Image  of  Peter  at  St.  Peter's. — Worshiped  by  Pope 
and  Cardinals. — The  Pantheon:  Scene  there. — Rome,  Pagan  in  Fact, 
Christian  only  in  Name 65 

LETTER  IX. 

Cumulative  Evidence  of  the  Paganism  of  Romanism. — Landing  at  Na- 
ples.— Appearance  of  the  Ecclesiastics. — Convent  house. — Church  of 
Capuchins  at  Rome. — Preserved  Monk. — Horrid  Burying-place. — 
Nuns — how  manufactured. — Whence  Monks  and  Nuus,  and  for  what. 
— Tools  of  the  Priests  and  Corrupters  of  the  People 74 

LETTER  X. 

Letter  from  Rome  dated  A.D.  90. — The  Paganism  of  Rome  then,  the 
exact  Picture  of  Papal  Rome  now 82 

LETTER  XI. 
Sham  Miracles. — Altar  in  the  Catacombs. — St.  Januarius — the  Lique- 
faction of  his  Blood. — A  terrible  Incident  for  the  Priests. — Ara  Cceli. 
— Bambino. — A  Scene. — History  of  Bambino. — Its  wonderful  Pow- 
ers      91 

LETTER  XII. 
Sham  Miracles. — Holy  House  of  Loretto — its  History — Flight — Dimen- 
sions.— Miracles. — Litany  of  our  Lady  of  Loretto. — Perpetrators  of 
such  Frauds,  Impostors 99 

LETTER  XIII. 

Sham  Miracles. — St.  Anthony  of  Padua. — The  Virgin  of  Modena. — 
Blood  of  Thomas  a  Becket. — Miracles  of  St.  Patrick. — Miracles  at 
Downpatrick. — St.  Dagland's  Grave. — The  Boy  exorcised. — Xavier's 
Miracles. — The  wonderful  Crab. — Priests  not  to  be  trusted  ...   108 


CONTENTS.  1X 

LETTER  XIV. 
Relics. — Scala  Sancta. — Sancta  Sanctorum. — Relics  of  Santa  Croce — 
of  St.  Praxede — of  St.  Peter's — in  Milan — in  Cologne. — Sanctioned  by 
the  Church. — Made  to  Order. — That  they  should  be  true,  not  essen- 
tial.— Their  Effects  upon  the  People. — These  Forgers  of  Relics  un- 
fitted to  be  our  moral  Teachers Page  1 17 

LETTER  XV. 
Legends. — Sabbath  evening  in  S.  Carlo. — Gorgeous  Scene  there. — Le- 
gends from  Butler — from  Lives  of  English  Saints. — Dr.  Duff's  Testi- 
mony.— Foolish  Legends  of  the  Dark  Ages  revived. — Tlfe  Religion 
of  Legends  not  fitted  for  America 128 

LETTER  XVI. 
The  Mass  not  the  Worship  of  God. — A  theatrical  Exhibition. — Wal- 
densian  Church  in  Turin. — High  Ceremonies  of  Rome  all  theatrical. 
— Feast  of  the  Nativity. — Visit  of  the  Wise  Men. — Procession  of 
Palms. — Judgment-hall  of  Pilate. — Procession  at  Bonville. — Sab- 
bath evening  Service  in  Edinburgh. — Popish  Plays  and  Play-actors 
not  suited  to  America 139 

LETTER  XVII. 

Romanism  tested  by  its  Fruits  in  Romer — No  personal  Liberty  there— - 
two  Cases  in  Proof. — No  security  of  Property — two  flagrant  Illustra- 
tions.— No  Religion  there — no  Sabbath — no  Bible — no  Preaching— 
no  worshiping  Congregations — no  serious  Devotion  there. — Is  Popery 
the  best  form  of  Religion  for  our  Country  ? 150 

LETTER  XVIII. 
Fruits  of  Romanism. — Idolatry  in  Rome. — A  Prodigy. — Pictures  of  Mary 
— her  Names  and  Worship. — Immorality  of  Rome. — Scene  at  Naples 
— Key  to  priestly  Profligacy. — Experience  of  Luther. — Mass  for  the 
Soul  of  Gregory  XVI. — Vespers  in  the  Sistine.  —  Cardinals — their 
Character. — Feelings  of  the  Romans  toward  the  Priests. — A  Chat  at 
Civita  Vecchia. — Romanism  detested  at  Rome 160 

LETTER  XIX. 
Avignon. —  Hotel  de  l'Europe — mine  Host. — Captain  Packenham.-— 
Elasticity  of  Romanism — the  Pope — Priests. — Despotism  of  Roman- 
ism.—  Friends  of  the  Pope. —  Neapolitan  Catechism. —  Priests  the 
Watchmen  of  Despotism — their  horrid  Use  of  the  Confessional — it 
should  be  the  Abhorrence  of  all  Flesh 171 


X  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XX. 

Character  of  Priests. — A  Walk  in  Turin. — Bishops  in  England  and 
America  Spies  of  Rome. — Ecclesiastical  Preferments  the  Rewards  of 
Spies. — When  Priests  and  Despots  are  in  League,  no  Hope  for  the 
People. — Examples  of  priestly  Despotism. — Curse  from  the  Altar. — 
Case  of  the  Antrim  Miller. — Priests  the  Curse  of  Ireland. — Can  they 
be  a  blessing  to  America  ? Page  1 82 

LETTER  XXI. 

Ballenglen. — An  Incident. — Persecution  of  Converts.  —  Thrilling  Fa- 
naticism at  a  Funeral. — The  Way  the  Priests  get  Money. — An  Inci- 
dent.—  Cursing  from  the  Altar. —  Hard  Case  of  Donovan. —  Doing 
Penance  in  Sheets.  —  Priests'  Power  giving  Way. — Anecdote  of  a 
Girl.— The  Milkman.— Taking  the  Bull  by  the  Horns.— The  Curse 
of  Ireland 192 

LETTER  XXII. 

Deceivings  of  Priests. — Nunneries. — Taking  the  Vail. — Stories  about 
Luther  and  Calvin. — Case  of  poor  Bruley. — The  Vaudois  Monsters. 
— Bridge  of  Purgatory  broken. — Father  O'Flanagan. — Why  these  de- 
ceivings ? — Priests  deserve  Purgatory 205 

0 

*  LETTER  XXIII. 

Rome  Intolerant. — Persecutions  sanctioned. — Bishops  sworn  to  per- 
secute— Deposed  if  they  do  not. — Wiseman's  reply. — Proofs  of  In- 
tolerance— Waldenses  —  Castelnau  —  Bezieres  —  Morland's  Address 
— St.  Bartholomew — Edict  of  Nantes  revoked — Irish  Massacre  of 
1641 — other  Evidences. — Two  Skins 217 

LETTER  XXIV. 

Bad  influence  of  Popery  on  the  Nations. — Results  from  its  Principles. — 
No  exceptions. —  Naples. —  Rome. —  Sardinia. — Female  Degradation. 
— Ireland. —  Protestant  and  Papal  States  compared. —  Spain. —  Colo- 
nies of  Papal  States. — Is  Popery  the  best  Religion  for  our  Country  ? 
— Protestantism  has  made  the  United  States  what  they  are. — What 
will  they  become  if  surrendered  to  the  Jesuit  and  the  Priest  1 . .  230 

LETTER  XXV. 

Emigration — must  increase — mostly  Popish. — What  to  be  done  for  them 
— Liberty — Conscience — American  Spirit. — Tide  stayed  until  now. 
— Right  of  all  Men  to  the  Bible — Wickedness  of  withholding  it. — 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Differences  between  Protestantism  and  Popery.— Edinburgh  Irish 
Missions. — Rev.  Mr.  King. — Character  of  Priests. — Pilgrim  of  Struel. 
— Treatment  Priests  deserve Page  24^ 

LETTER  XXVI. 
Strictures  on  Popery  ended.—Popery  to  be  extirpated— its  End  hasten- 
ing.— Friends  of  Freedom  Enemies  of  Popery. — Suspeuded  Wrath. — 
Religion  essential  to  national  Greatness. — What  true  Religion  is.— 
Nature  of  the  Church  of  God— its  Object  and  End.— Tendency  to  vi- 
carious Religion.— Great  Curse  of  Christendom 260 


KIRWAN'S   LETTERS 


TO 


CHIEF  JUSTICE  TANEY. 


LETTER!  * 

Introductory. — Object  of  these  Letters. — Reasons  for  addressing  them 

to  Chief  Justice  Taney. 

Obligations  to  give  reasons.  "Bishop  Hughes. 

My  dear  Sir, — It  will  probably  strike  you  and  oth- 
ers with,  some  degree  of  surprise  that  I  address  to  you 
the  following  series  of  letters.  And  you  have  a  right 
to  ask,  and  I  confess  myself  under  obligations  to  give, 
the  reasons  why  I  select  you  from  all  the  distinguished 
and  honorable  men  of  these  United  States  for  this  pur- 
pose. Permit  me  to  state  these  reasons  in  the  briefest 
manner. 

It  may  have  come  to  your  knowledge  that,  within  a 
few  years,  I  addressed  a  series  of  letters  to  the  Right 
Reverend  John  Hughes,  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop 
of  New  York.  In  those  letters  I  stated  my  objections 
to  the  doctrines  and  teachings  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  with  the  view  of  bringing  them  before  the 
bishop  and  the  country  for  a  new  consideration.  I  ob- 
tained my  object  in  part.  The  bishop  read  my  letters 
— twice  attempted  a  reply — and  feeling  the  objections 
to  be  less  vulnerable  than  their  author,  fled  the  con- 


14  kirwan's  letters. 

Appeal  to  the  people.  Growth  of  moral  power  needful. 

troversy,  and  sought  to  cover  his  retreat  by  a  few  let- 
ters, famed  for  their  weakness,,  low  personalities,  and 
want  of  manliness.  But,  although  every  where  de- 
nounced by  papal  priests  and  their  press,  my  objec- 
tions have  received  some  consideration  from  the  coun- 
try, and  with  what  results  a  future  day  must  fully  re- 
veal. I  return  again  to  the  discussion,  with  the  desire 
to  appeal  from  the  bishop  and  the  priest  to  the  people  ; 
and  who,  Sir,  from  the  ranks  of  those  holding  a  nom- 
inal connection  with  the  Romish  Church  in  this  land, 
could  I  have  selected  to  whom  to  address  these  letters 
in  preference  to  yourself?  The  motives  which  led 
me  to  select  Bishop  Hughes  from  the  prelates  of  this 
Church  have  led  me  to  select  you  from  its  people.  And 
in  saying  this,  I  protest  against  the  inference  of  wish- 
ing to  reduce  you  to  the  level  of  the  bishop. 

Again  ;  ours  is  a  great  and  growing  country.  With- 
in your  remembrance — yes,  within  the  years  through 
which  your  name  has  been  known  in  our  public  affairs, 
it  has  vastly  extended  in  territory,  population,  and  pow- 
er. And  in  all  the  elements  of  greatness  it  is  constant- 
ly augmenting.  Already  do  we,  as  a  people,  stand  out 
before  the  world  as  one  of  its  great  powers  ;  and,  if 
second,  as  only  second  to  Britain,  in  maintaining  free 
institutions,  and  in  recommending  them  to  universal 
adoption.  It  is  of  unspeakable  importance  that  the 
moral  power  of  our  country  should  grow  with  its 
growth.  And  you,  Sir,  as  the  chief  and  honored  judi- 
cial officer  of  our  republic,  are  in  the  very  position  to 
appreciate  this  truth,  and  to  see  it  in  all  the  magnitude 
of  its  application.  And  how  much  to  do  with  the  mor- 
al power  of  a  nation,  and  with  the  right  exercise  of  its 


kirwan's   letters.  15 

Prevalence  of  Romanism  a  curse.  The  remedy  with  the  people. 

physical,  has  the  form  of  religion  which  obtains  among 
the  people  !  Believing  in  my  heart  as  I  do,  and  as  I 
shall  attempt  in  subsequent  letters  fully  to  place  be- 
fore you,  that  the  prevalence  of  Romanism  in  our  land 
will  have  only  the  tendency  to  reduce  our  country  and 
people  to  the  low  level  of  Italy  and  the  Italians,  I  wish 
to  forewarn,  and  thus  to  forearm  the  American  people. 
And  this  I  shall  aim  to  do,  not  by  appeals  to  passion 
or  prejudice,  but  by  a  careful  and  honest  statement  of 
facts,  and  examination  Of  principles,  and  reference  to 
history,  and  to  the  state  of  things  now  actually  exist- 
ing. And  in  order  to  attract  toward  my  statements 
the  attention  of  our  entire  country,  I  address  myself  to 
you.  The  higher  our  glorious  flag  is  hung,  the  more 
eyes  will  behold  its  stars  and  its  stripes. 

Again ;  I  address  these  letters,  Sir,  to  you,  because 
I  desire  to  appeal  from  the  priests  to  the  people  ;  and 
especially  to  the  people  yet  under  the  influence  of  the 
teachings  of  Romanism.  With  the  people  is  the  rem- 
edy for  all  our  civil  wrongs.  This  is  a  principle  to 
which  you  have  given  your  individual,  political,  and 
official  sanction.  Government  is  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people ;  and  when  rulers  pervert  the  government  to 
their  own  purposes,  and  trample  upon  its  written  Con- 
stitution, and  oppress  the  people,  then  the  remedy  is 
with  the  people — peaceably  if  they  can,  by  revolution  if 
necessary.  A  government  perverted  by  cunning  from 
its  great  ends  is  no  longer  binding  upon  its  subjects  ;  it 
is  their  duty  to  restore  it  to  its  original  foundations 
— peaceably  if  they  can,  by  rebellion  if  they  must.  No 
American — scarcely  any  monarchist — will  question 
these  positions  as  to  civil  affairs.     And  are  they  not  of 


16  kirwan's   letters. 

Mission  of  the  Church.  Priests  yield  power  slowly. 

equal  application  to  our  religious  ?  If  an  institution 
was  ever  set  up  in  our  world  for  the  good  of  mankind, 
it  is  the  Church  of  God.  (rood  will  to  men — to  bind 
all  men  in  love  to  Grod,  and  in  love  to  one  another — is 
its  great  mission.  And  I  hope  to  prove  to  your  entire 
satisfaction,  that  as  far  as  the  Romish  Church  is  con- 
cerned, its  priesthood  have  perverted  it,  as  to  its  con- 
stitution, doctrines,  and  institution,  so  as  to  debase  and 
grind  the  people  —  and  for  their  own  ends  ;  that  they 
assume  the  position  in  the  Church  which  absolute  mon- 
archs  do  in  the  state  ;  that  the  Church  exists  by  them 
and  for  them.  Now,  Sir,  when  men  by  craft  obtain 
the  possession  of  high  powers,  whose  exercise  brings 
them  great  gain,  they  are  slow  to  relinquish  them ; 
they  are  proof  against  all  the  weapons  of  reason  and 
logic.  And  this  is  especially  true  of  high  ecclesiastics, 
who  have  ever  manifested  an  amiable  tendency  to  the 
belief  of  a  divine  warrant  for  as  much  oppression  as 
may  be  needful  to  support  their  claims  and  their  pomp. 
Where  and  when  did  they  ever  freely  surrender  unlaw- 
ful power  ?  Not  among  the  Jews — nor  among  the  hea- 
then— nor  under  the  shadow  of  the  crescent — nor  with- 
in the  dominions  of  Romanism.  Priestly  power,  always 
intrenching  itself  behind  divine  sanctions,  has  never 
yielded  save  before  the  power  of  the  people ;  and  not 
even  then  without  thundering  its  anathemas  against 
those  who  had  overthrown  it.  Need  I  stop,  Sir,  to  give 
illustrations  of  all  this  ?  They  stand,  thick  as  the  trees 
of  our  unbroken  forests,  along  the  history  of  our  race. 
The  power  of  the  Romish  priesthood  is  terrific  ;  and  it 
claims  even  more  than  it  can  exercise.  It  has  sought 
to  crush  every  thing  that  opposes  it.     Where  it  is  the 


kirwan's   letters.  17 

United  effort  needed.  A  method  of  reasoning. 


controlling  power,  it  has  put  out  the  light  of  the  Bible 
and  of  general  literature  ;  it  has  put  its  shackles  upon 
the  press  and  upon  human  liberty.  Nor  will  the  Pope 
or  the  priest  relinquish  the  power  they  wield  so  disas- 
trously to  all  the  interests  of  man,  and  for  their  own 
benefit,  but  at  the  bidding  of  the  people.  I  desire  to 
enlist  the  people  in  one  great  and  united  effort  for  the 
overthrow  of  this  power  ;  and  hence,  with  the  hope  of 
thus  better  reaching  them,  I  address  these  letters  to 
you.  I  hope  the  time  has  forever  passed  when  the 
voice  of  the  people  was  forbidden  to  mingle  with  that 
of  ecclesiastics  in  controversy  upon  religious  systems 
and  topics.  Look  at  Scotland,  and  England,  and  Italy, 
and  then  ask,  have  the  people  no  interest  as  to  the  form 
of  religion  which  shall  obtain  among  them  ?  If  they 
have,  I  wish  them  to  show  it ;  if  they  show  it  not, 
then  let  them  bare  their  necks  for  the  priestly  yoke. 

Again  ;  you  are  yourself,  if  not  really,  at  least  nom- 
inally, in  connection  with  the  Romish  Church.  De- 
scended, as  I  learn,  from  an  honorable  family  of  the 
Roman  faith,  you  have  received  from  them  that  faith 
as  an  heir-loom,  which,  although  treated  by  you  with 
indifference,  is  not  yet  cast  away  as  a  gross  imposture. 
Indeed,  presuming  on  your  fidelity  to  that  system  of 
hoary  error,  a  Romish  prelate  has  recently  dedicated  to 
you  a  work  on  Theology,  which  embodies  in  it  a  vin- 
dication of  the  ferocious  and  infernal  Inquisition  !  The 
priests  and  people  of  that  faith  seek  to  make  out  of  your 
name  and  position  all  that  they  fairly  can  for  its  sup- 
port. If  not  a  reasonable,  this  is,  at  least,  a  common 
way  of  argumentation.  Perhaps  we  all  seek  an  argu- 
ment for  our  systems  from  the  honorable  and  worship- 


18  kirwan's  letters. 


Hopes  from  your  decision. 


ful  names  that  have  embraced  them.  Now,  Sir,  I  have 
a  desire  that  the  facts  and  statements  which  I  have  to 
make  should  pass  in  review  before  your  well- trained, 
logical,  and  judicial  mind.  Brought  up  to  a  profession 
which  proverbially  sharpens  the  intellect  for  just  dis- 
crimination, and  having  risen  to  the  very  highest  hon- 
ors of  that  profession,  you  are  as  capable  of  separating 
the  false  from  the  true,  the  fiction  from  fact,  the  seem- 
ing from  the  real,  as  any  other  American  citizen.  Hop- 
ing and  believing  that  you  have  not  surrendered  to  a 
gossamer  theory  the  right  of  private  judgment,  I  ven- 
ture to  address  my  letters  to  you,  with  the  expectation 
that  if  they  receive  the  attention  which  their  subject- 
matter  deserves,  you  will  openly  renounce  the  entire 
delusion,  and  withdraw  from  its  support  your  honored 
name  and  official  station.  May  I  not  hope  for  more 
than  this  ?  If,  on  review,  you  find  the  system  false, 
and  blighting  in  all  its  direct  influences,  may  not  the 
expectation  be  indulged,  that  a  mind  signalized  as  is 
yours  by  so  many  triumphs  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench, 
stimulated  by  philanthropy  and  a  love  of  country,  will 
rise  above  the  trammels  of  early  education,  and  the  fear 
of  denunciation  by  foreign  prelates  and  priests,  and  de- 
vote its  energies  to  the  saving  of  our  land  and  its  in- 
stitutions from  all  the  influences  and  machinations  of 
Romanism  ?  If  I  have  no  line  by  which  to  measure 
the  insolence  of  a  priest  that  would  dedicate  a  work, 
containing  a  vindication  of  the  Inquisition,  to  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States  of  America,  neither  have 
I  any  line  to  measure  the  good  that  you  might  effect 
by  throwing  yourself  into  a  hearty  opposition  to  a  sys- 
tem whose  only  fit  name  is  "  Mystery  of  Iniquity." 


KIRWAN    S    LETTERS.  19 


No  reply  required.  A  worthy  reply,  if  any. 

Such,  Sir,  in  brief,  are  my  reasons  for  addressing 
these  letters  to  you.  I  have  no  desire  to  draw  you  into 
religious  controversy  of  any  kind,  nor  to  withdraw  your 
attention  from  the  high  duties  which  your  country  has 
devolved  upon  you.  As  I  address  you  anonymously, 
no  law  of  controversy  or  courtesy  requires  you  to  reply. 
Although  unknown  to  me,  save  as  you  are  known  to 
the  whole  country,  by  character,  for  that  character  I 
have  the  very  highest  respect.  And  should  your  many 
and  important  public  duties  permit  you  to  give  suffi- 
cient time  duly  to  weigh  the  statements  which  I  shall 
present  for  your  consideration  and  that  of  the  public, 
it  will  give  me  unfeigned  pleasure  in  any  way  to  hear 
from  you.  I  have  no  fear  that,  like  our  friend  in  New 
York,  you  will  commence  answering  my  letters  before 
you  read  them ;  and,  should  you  reply,  I  have  no  fear 
that  you  will  write  a  line  unworthy  of  your  name  and 
station.  The  characteristics  which  entitle  a  man  to 
wear  the  ermine  as  Chief  Justice  of  this  great  repub- 
lic, are  very  different  from  those  which  secure  for  a  cun- 
ning priest  a  foolish  fillet  made  from  the  wool  of  holy 
sheep. 

"With  great  respect,  yours. 


'    "/FOB 


20  kirwan's   letters. 

Begin  at  the  beginning.  There  is  a  Church. 


LETTER  II. 

The  Beginning  to  be  understood. — A  Church  of  God. — The  Jewish 
Church  became  Corrupt — had  Reformers  and  Reformations. — Mainly 
corrupted  by  Priests.  —  The  Christian  Church  became  Corrupt — 
through  what  Causes. — The  setting  up  of  Mohammedanism  and  Ro- 
manism.— Romanism  not  the  Church  Paul  found  in  Rome. 

My  dear  Sir, — In  all  discussions  which  involve  great 
principles  and  interests,  it  is  always  well  to  begin  with 
the  beginning.  When  the  beginning  is  well  under- 
stood, we  may  carry  a  stream  of  light  with  us  to  the 
end.  And  we  may  so  simplify  the  most  abstruse  and 
erudite  subjects  as  to  place  them  within  the  compre- 
hension of  the  great  masses  of  men.  Permit  me,  then, 
in  the  present  letter,  to  ask  your  attention  to  some 
statements  as  to  the  Church  of  Grod,  and  the  rise  of 
the  Church  of  Rome.  As  I  have  never  heard  to  the 
contrary,  I  will  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  a  be- 
liever in  the  Bible.  May  I  not  hope  that,  as  the  chief 
expounder  of  the  laws  of  a  great  and  Christian  people, 
you  make  it  the  man  of  your  counsel  and  the  guide  of 
your  life  ? 

Admitting  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  it  is  beyond  all 
question  that  (xod  has  erected  a  Church  in  our  world. 
Until  the  coming  of  Christ,  that  Church  was  confined 
to  the  Jews,  and  its  rites  were  administered  under  the 
Mosaic  economy.  Although  existing  under  types  and 
ceremonies,  the  shadows  of  good  things  to  come,  it  was 


KIRWAN    S    LETTERS.  21 


Jewish  Church  corrupted. 


Had  its  reformers. 


truly  the  Church  of  God.     Yet  how  sadly  was  it  cor- 
rupted !     How  deeply,  at  times,  did  it  sink  into  the  most 
gross  idolatry !     How  often  were  its  true  members  re- 
duced to  a  few  who  bowed  not  the  knee  to  Baal ;  and 
while  false  priests  were  offering  their  incense  upon  a 
thousand  altars,  and  the  people  were  clamorous  in  the 
praises  of  false  prophets,  who  daily  fared  sumptuously 
at  king's  tables,  how  often  were  the  true  priests,  and 
prophets,  and  people,  compelled  to  seek  refuge  "in  des- 
erts and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth."     In  its  day  and  dispensation,  the  Jewish  was 
the  true  Church  of  God  in  our  world,  and  yet  it  fell 
into  an  idolatry  as  gross  as  any  that  existed  among  the 
surrounding  heathen,  and  its  priests  and  people  became 
to  every  good  work  reprobate.     And  the  great  object 
of  heaven  in  raising  up  the  prophets  who  successively 
appear  in  the  progress  of  its  history,  was  to  recall  the 
minds  of  the  people  from  their  idols  to  the  considera- 
tion of  first  principles  and  of  God's  revealed  will ;  and 
by  reforming  their  sentiments,  to  reform  their  lives. 
And  Elijah,  and  Elisha,  and  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  were 
only  the  Luthers  and  the  Calvins,  the  Melancthons, 
the  Whitefields,  and  the  Wesleys  of  the  dispensation 
which  has  vanished  away,  each  blowing  a  reformation 
trumpet  in  Israel,  calling  upon  priests  and  people  to  re- 
turn from  their  idolatry  and  wickedness  unto  Israel's 
God.     Every  thing,  Sir,  with  which  man  has  to  do,  is 
liable  to  corruption  and  perversion,  because,  in  his  best 
state,  man  is  an  imperfect  being.     And  I  make  this 
statement  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  this  one  truth, 
that  while  God  was  the  God  of  the  Jewish,  as  he  is 
the  God  of  the  Christian  Church,  he  permitted  that 


22  KIR  WAN's    LETTERS. 

The  true  Church  where  ?  Christian  Church. 

Church  to  fall  into  a  state  of  backsliding  so  awful  as 
to  render  successive  reformations  absolutely  necessary. 
A_nd  the  Bible  reveals  the  pregnant  and  warning  truth, 
that  the  priests,  high  and  low,  and  the  pretending 
prophets,  were  the  main  corrupters  of  the  faith  and  wor- 
ship of  the  people.  But  where,  you  will  ask,  was  the 
true  Church  in  these  days  of  backsliding,  idolatry,  and 
corruption  ?  In  the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  with 
those  who  clung  to  the  truth  of  God,  and  who  bowed 
not  the  knee  to  Baal. 

In  the  fullness  of  time  the  Savior  came  into  the  world, 
and  the  Jewish  ^vas  changed  for  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation. The  Church  was  continued,  but  under  a  new, 
and  better,  and  brighter  economy.  The  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  Judaism  were  laid  aside  for  the  things  which 
they  signified.  The  thoughts,  the  manner  of  life,  the 
doctrines  of  the  Savior  were  perfectly  simple,  and  equal- 
ly simple  was  the  dispensation  which  he  introduced. 
The  power  of  his  religion  lay  in  its  truthfulness  and 
simplicity,  and  in  its  adaptation  to  the  moral  wants  of 
the  world.  He  laid  down  his  life  for  sinners,  that 
through  the  efficacy  of  his  atoning  sacrifice,  all  of  ev- 
ery nation,  tongue,  and  people,  who  should  believe  on 
him,  might  be  saved.  The  only  qualification  required 
for  admission  to  his  Church  was  belief  in  him — the  be- 
lief of  the  heart,  which  manifests  itself  in  a  holy  life. 
And  he  set  apart  a  class  of  men,  the  models  of  a  per- 
petual ministry,  in  his  Church,  to  proclaim  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  that  God  was  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself  through  his  Son.  The  object  of  the  ministry 
was  to  preach  salvation  through  a  Savior  ;  the  duty  of 
all  who  heard  them  was  to  believe  in  the  Savior  preach- 


KIRAVAN 


'S     LETTERS.  23 


Causes  of  its  corruption. 


ed  ;  and  the  privilege  of  all  who  believed  was  to  con- 
nect themselves  with  the  company  of  believers,  called 
the  Church,  and  there  to  unite  their  energy  and  influ- 
ence with  those  of  others  in  extending  the  news  of  the 
common  salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Such  was 
the  Church  of  Christ  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  its 
divine  founder. 

But  it  was  committed  of  necessity  to  imperfect  men ; 
and  although  the  promise  was  given  that  the  gates  of 
hell  should  not  prevail  against  it,  yet  that  promise  did 
not  protect  it  against  assault  from  without,  nor  against 
corruption  within.     A  true  ministry  and  true  believers 
never  have,  and  never  will,  cease  from  the  earth  until 
the  great  ends  are  obtained  for  which  the  Church  was 
established ;  yet  we  see  in  the  Church  of  Christ  the 
very  things  recurring  which  in  previous  ages  had  be- 
fallen the  Jewish  Church.      Converts  from  Judaism 
were  multiplied  to  the  new  faith,  who  brought  with 
them  Jewish  prejudices  and  notions,  which  they  sought 
to  ingraft  on  the  Church,  and  not  without  success. 
Converts  from  the  heathen  were  multiplied,  who  brought 
with  them  their  prejudices  and  notions,  and  which, 
with  like  success,  they  sought  to  ingraft  on  the  Church. 
New  systems  of  philosophy  arose,  which  sought  to  in- 
corporate themselves  with  the  teachings  of  Christ,  and 
thus  to  render  those  teachings  subservient  to  their  ends. 
As  the  martyr  age  passed  away,  the  Church  became 
secular,  its  ministry  unconverted,  and  its  entire  spirit 
changed.     It  sought  to  gain  the  world  by  relaxing  its 
severe  morals,  and  sinking  its  great  truths,  and  by  con- 
formity to  existing  customs  and  habits.     In  the  worst 
sense  of  the  passage,  it  became  "  all  things  to  all  men." 


24  KIR  WAN's     LETTERS. 


Systems  of  Rome  and  of  Mecca. 


The  ambition  of  priests  soon  led  them  to  model  the 
Church  after  the  fashion  of  the  state  ;  and  thus,  by 
gradual  stages,  the  work  of  corruption  and  of  external 
conformity  progressed,  until  in  a  few  centuries  the 
Church  of  Rome  was  fully  developed,  which,  although 
it  contains  more  truth,  bears  a  no  more  striking  like- 
ness to  the  Church  established  by  Christ  than  does  Mo- 
hammedanism. While  the  systems  of  Rome  and  of 
Mecca  agree  in  some  things,  they  differ  much  in  their 
setting  up.  That  of  Mecca  was  framed  by  a  bold  im- 
postor, was  most  artfully  adapted  to  human  nature,  and 
was  established  at  once  by  violence,  while  that  of 
Rome  was  the  gradual  growth  of  centuries.  One  cor- 
ruption prepared  for  another — one  step  toward  supreme 
power  and  ghostly  dominion  prepared  for  another  — 
what  was  begun  in  one  age  was  perfected  in  the  next ; 
and  thus,  by  slow  but  sure  stages,  "  the  mystery  of  in- 
iquity" grew  and  became  compacted,  Until  the  Church 
of  Christ  was  divested  of  its  simplicity  and  beauty,  and 
its  light  was  extinguished  in  all  its  high  places.  The 
system  of  Mecca  might  be  compared  to  a  large  tree 
planted  at  once,  and  that  of  Rome  to  a  tree  which  grew 
up  from  the  seed,  striking  its  roots  deeper  from  year  to 
year,  and  spreading  wider  and  wider  its  branches.  Or, 
to  use  a  Scripture  parable,  the  enemy  sowed  tares 
among  the  good  seed,  and  the  corrupt  clergy,  finding 
it  would  be  most  to  their  advantage  to  cultivate  them, 
fostered  and  cherished  them,  and  nursed  them  to  a  vig- 
orous growth,  until  they  choked  the  good  seed,  and 
flourished  almost  alone  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord.  Ro- 
manism is  not  Christianity  ;  on  the  most  liberal  allow- 
ance, it  is  but  little  more  than  a  caricature  of  it. 


kirwan's   letters.  25 

Elements  of  Romanism.  Tbe  Church  with  the  truth. 

That  you,  Sir,  and  all  men  may  see  this,  just  run 
over  the  list  of  things  which,  when  combined,  form  the 
Romish  system,  not  a  pretext  for  which  can  be  found 
in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  nor  in  the  life  and  labors 
of  Christ  and  his  Apostles.  They  are  such  as  these  : 
a  pope,  cardinals,  the  mass,  auricular  confession,  pen- 
ances, an  infallible  earthly  head,  robed  priests,  purga- 
tory, praying  to  the  saints,  feasts  and  fasts,  monks, 
friars,  nuns,  celibacy,  holy  water,  mitres,  crosiers,  pal- 
liums  made  from  the  wool  of  holy  sheep  !  These,  ce- 
mented and  jointed  by  other  inventions  of  men,  and 
some  scriptural  truths,  make  up  the  system  of  Roman- 
ism, which  differs  as  much  from  the  relio-ion  of  Christ 
as  does  the  harlequin  dressed  up  to  play  the  buffoon 
from  a  plain,  sensible,  and  well-bred  gentleman. 

You,  Sir,  will  esteem  it  no  answer  to  all  this  to  say 
that  if  this  statement  is  true,  the  promise  of  Christ  to 
his  Church  has*  failed.  This  is  begging  the  question. 
God's  Church  existed  when  the  priests  and  people  of 
Judea  were  idolatrous,  and  when  Obadiah  thought  that 
he  was  left  alone.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  with  those 
who  believe  and  practice  the  truth.  Nor  especially  is 
it  any  answer  that  the  Romish  is  the  oldest,  and,  there- 
fore, the  true  Church.  Age  never  converts  the  lie  into 
a  truth — the  forged  into  the  real.  If  so,  the  Jew  or  the 
Pagan  have  the  argument  against  the  Christian  ;  and 
the  "  old  wives'  fables,"  of  which  Paul  speaks  to  Timo- 
thy, may  supplant  the  teachings  of  the  Apostles.  The 
Church,  as  established  by  Christ,  we  find  in  the  New 
Testament — the  Romish  Church  we  find  in  the  decrees 
of  Councils,  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  and  in  the 
reveries  of  enthusiasts.     That  of  Christ  is  the  oldest ; 

B 


26  kirwan's   letters. 


All  institutions  liable  to  corruption. 


and  to  it  all  belong  who  receive  the  New  Testament, 
and  live  as  it  teaches. 

To  you,  Sir,  or  to  any  thinking  man,  it  is  no  new 
truth  that  the  best  and  most  safely-guarded  institutions 
are  liable  to  corruption  and  perversion.     The  more  pure 
they  are,  the  more  are  they  opposed  to  our  natural  self- 
ishness, and  the  greater  will  be  the  effort  to  pervert 
them.     Have  not  governments  been  corrupted  ?     Have 
not  despotic  supplanted  free  institutions  ?     Have  not 
unlawful  acts  grown  into  precedents,  and  precedents 
become  laws  ?     Have  not  the  grants  of  weakness  or  of 
favor  been  made  the  foundations  of  claims  of  right  ? 
Have  not  privileges  enjoyed  because  of  the  ignorance, 
indolence,  or  weakness  of  others,  been  claimed  as  divine 
rights  ?     The  setting  up,  in  the  way  that  we  have 
stated,  of  the  Romish  Church  in  our  world,  is  no  new 
thing  under  the  sun.     And  I  here  aver  that  the  present 
awfully  despotic  government  of  Rome  differs  no  more 
widely  from  the  old  Roman  Commonwealth,  than  does 
the  present  Church  of  Rome  from  that  which  was  found 
there  by  Paul  the  Apostle,  and  which  was  greatly  con- 
firmed and  enlarged  by  his  labors.     Of  this,  more  in 
the  sequel. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


kirwan's   letters.  27 


Saint  Peter's.  My  farewell  to  it. 


LETTER   III. 

The  Basilica  of  Saint  Peter's  a  Temple  of  Art,  not  a  Church. — A  Type 
of  the  Romish  Church.  —  Romanism  a  System  of  Policy  to  retain 
Power. — The  Power  it  claims — its  means  of  supporting  them. 

My  dear  Sir, — On  entering  the  splendid  and  sumptu- 
ous Basilica  in  Rome,  dedicated  to  Saint  Peter,  I  found 
it  exceedingly  difficult  to  conceive  of  it  as  a  church  de- 
voted to  the  service  and  worship  of  (rod.  And  the  dif- 
ficulty increased  with  every  visit  made,  until  every  idea' 
of  its  being  a  church  at  all  vanished  from  my  mind. 
I  have  stood  under  its  great  cupola,  and  have  gazed 
with  rapture  on  the  wonders  and  proportions  of  archi- 
tecture above  and  around  me.  I  have  walked  around 
its  massive  pillars,  its  magnificent  walls,  its  gorgeous 
chapels,  until  wearied  with  the  sensations  of  pleasure 
and  delight  excited  by  its  statuary  and  paintings.  I 
have  explored  its  subterranean  vaults  by  torch-lights  ; 
and  from  the  ball,  high  in  the  air,  which  surmounts 
its  dome,  I  have  looked  down  upon  the  old  historic  city 
which  seemed  to  lie  at  my  feet.  As,  on  the  eighth  day 
of  June,  1851,  I  passed  down  the  "  piazza"  on  which 
it  fronts,  I  turned  round  to  take  of  it  a  full  and  last 
view,  and,  believing  that  I  never  should  behold  it  again, 
a  feeling  of  sadness  came  over  me.  I  took  off  my  hat, 
and  bowed  to  it,  most  profoundly,  a  final  farewell. 

But  Saint  Peter's  is  not  a  church  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  Crod.     There  is  no  Bible  there  on  all  its  al- 


28  kirwan's   letters. 

God  not  worshiped  thei-e.  Type  of  the  Church. 

tars.  There  is  no  preaching  of  the  Gospel  there.  Mass- 
es are  constantly  mumbled  there  by  crowds  of  priests, 
but  there  are  no  congregations.  In  the  same  chapel  I 
have  seen  some  priests  creating  Grod  at  the  altar,  while 
others,  with  a  guide-book  in  their  hand,  were  criticis- 
ing the  pictures  and  statuary  around  them,  talking  and 
smiling  as  if  in  a  museum.  And  all  this  on  the  Sab- 
bath  day.  You  will  find  young  ragged  Romans  play- 
ing "  hide  and  go  seek"  amid  its  pillars,  and  squalid 
beggars  imploring  your  charity  even  at  the  base  of  the 
masrnificent  "  baldacchino"  which  surmounts  the  altar 
at  which  the  pope  alone  can  say  mass  ;  but*the  G-ospel 
is  not  preached  there,  nor  is  God  there  worshiped.  It 
is  not,  then,  a  church ;  it  is  simply  and  only  a  Temple 
of  the  Arts,  where  may  be  seen,  in  wonderful  combina- 
tion, the  highest  efforts  of  architecture,  and  the  most 
splendid  creations  of  the  chisel  and  the  pencil.  And 
regarded  simply  as  such  a  temple,  it  is,  beyond  compari- 
son, the  most  magnificent  in  the  world. 

Now,  Sir,  in  many  things,  this  Basilica  of  Saint  Pe- 
ter's is  a  true  type  of  the  entire  Romish  Church.  That 
Church  is  far  more  a  system  of  policy  than  a  religious 
system ;  and  is  framed  more  with  a  view  to  sustain 
and  to  extend  its  power,  than  to  extend  the  knowledge 
of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  And  I  see  but  lit- 
tie  more  reason  for  calling  that  system  and  people,  of 
which  the  Pope  is  the  head,  a  Church,  or  the  Church, 
than  I  do  for  calling  the  Russian  or  the  English  gov- 
ernment a  Church,  as  in  Russia  the  emperor,  and  in 
England  the  queen,  is  the  head  of  the  Church.  And 
the  Church  of  Rome,  like  the  governments  of  England 
and  Russia,  is  simply  a  system  of  policy  to  perpetuate 


kirwan's   letters.  29 

Claims  of  the  Pope. 

the  power  by  which  it  has  lorded  it  over  people  and  na- 
tions, and  bowed  their  minds  and  souls  to  its  will.  Per- 
mit me  to  present  to  you,  Sir,  a  few  considerations  bear- 
ing on  this  important  point. 

The  Pope  of  Rome  claims  to  be  the  successor  of  Pe- 
ter, and,  as  such,  to  be  the  vicar  and  vicegerent  of 
Christ  upon  earth.  In  this  character  he  assumes  spir- 
itual supremacy  over  the  entire  Church,  regarding 
those  who  admit  his  claim  as  his  faithful,  and  those 
who  reject  it,  as  do  all  Protestants,  as  his  rebellious 
subjects,  but  not  less  amenable  to  his  jurisdiction.  In 
virtue  of  this  spiritual  supremacy,  he  claims  a  supreme 
sovereignty  over  things  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual — • 
over  all  the  kings  and  nations  of  the  earth.  So  that, 
in  the  words  which  have  been  often  applied  to  him  by 
his  votaries,  in  their  literal  sense,  he  bears  "  in  his  hand 
a  two-edged  sword,  to  execute  vengeance  upon  the  hea- 
then, and  punishment  upon  the  people,  to  bind  their 
kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles  with  fetters  of  iron." 
And  while  the  first  claim  is  unfounded,  and  the  second 
monstrous,  yet  the  whole  machinery  of  Romanism, 
from  beginning  to  end,  from  the  Arctic  to  the  Antarc- 
tic circle,  has  for  its  grand  aim  the  support  of  these 
unfounded  and  monstrous  claims.  The  claims  are  pro- 
digious, and  I  may  admire  or  despise  the  gigantic  am- 
bition or  fanaticism  that  makes  them — the  means  de- 
vised for  their  support  display  amazing  craft  and  cun- 
ning, and  a  wonderful  adaptation  to  their  end  ;  but 
what  title  have  the  asserters  of  such  claims,  or  the  de- 
visers of  the  means  to  sustain  them,  or  those,  that  ad- 
mit them,  to  the  name  of  a  Church,  or  The,  Church? 
It  is  an  old  trick  to  compensate  by  arrogant  claims  for 


30  kirwan's   letters. 


Chief  elements  of  Romanism.  Monstrous  claims. 


the  want  of  title  ;  and  the  main  elements  of  the  Rom- 
ish Church  are  monstrous  claims — monstrous  means  to 
sustain  them — and  the  monstrous  faith  of  its  people. 
It  is  no  more  a  Church  of  Grod,  than  is  Saint  Peter's  a 
temple  for  his  true  worship.  It  is  a  system  of  policy 
to  retain  power,  to  strengthen  which  every  thing  in  the 
way  of  doctrine  or  Scripture  is  made  to  bow. 

Unlawful  possession,  whether  of  property  or  power, 
always  leads  to  unworthy  means  to  secure  it.  With  a 
good  title,  we  are  always  at  rest ;  when  conscious  that 
our  title  will  not  bear  investigation,  we  feel  always  in 
jeopardy  ;  and  to  cover  one  fraud  we  will  commit  ten 
others.  A  thousand  illustrations  of  this  principle  will 
present  themselves  to  your  mind  ;  but  I  ask,  Sir,  your 
attention  to  some  of  those  frauds  by  which  the  Romish 
Church  seeks  to  fortify  itself  in  the  possession  of  the 
power  which  it  claims,  and  which  it  wields  with  such 
disastrous  effects  on  all  the  higher  interests  of  human- 
ity. This  is  a  comprehensive  topic,  including  almost 
every  peculiarity  of  Romanism,  and  must  not  be  dis- 
missed with  the  few  barren  statements  I  shall  now 
place  before  you. 

To  prop  up  the  power  which  by  fraud  and  falsehood 
it  has  been  accumulating  for  ages,  it  claims  a  mon- 
strous authority  for  its  priests.  The  Pope  is  the  vice- 
gerent of  Christ  and  the  centre  of  unity.  Bishops  are 
his  agents,  and  receive  authority  from  him  ;  priests  are 
the  agents  of  the  bishops,  and  receive  authority  from 
them.  To  resist  the  priest  is  to  resist  the  bishop,  and 
the  Pope,  and  Jesus  Christ  himself.  To  rebel  against 
the  authority  of  the  priest,  is  to  rebel  against  Heaven  ! 
The  sacrament  of  "  holy  orders"  means,  with  them, 


kirwan's   letters.  31 

Holy  orders.  Involves  our  liberty. 

something  more  than  the  giving  of  canonical  authority 
to  men  to  dispense  the  rites  of  the  Church ;  it  invests 
every  man,  however  senseless  or  immoral,  with  the 
power  of  shutting  and  opening  heaven  and  hell,  and 
of  sending  his  fellow-men  to  the  one  or  the  other,  as 
they  fear  him  or  frown  upon  him.  Is  not  the  attempt 
to  make  men  believe  that  "  holy  orders"  or  "/ordina- 
tion" confers  any  such  power,  the  perpetrating  of  a 
gross  fraud  upon  the  world  ?  You,  Sir,  are  our  chief 
justice,  by  law  appointed — the  decisions  of  your  court 
are  binding  until  reversed.  But  there  are  other  justi- 
ces in  the  world,  and  administering  law  under  govern- 
ments very  different,  in  form,  from  ours.  Are  they 
not  lawful  justices  also  ?  And,  as  the  powers  that  be 
are  ordained  of  Grod,  have  not  they  divine  authority  for 
the  due  exercise  of  their  functions  as  well  as  you  ? 
And  to  make  "  orders"  or  "  ordination,"  whether  con- 
ferred by  Pope,  bishop,  or  presbytery,  any  thing  else 
than  the  simple  authorizing  of  a  man,  according  to  es- 
tablished rules,  to  preach  the  Cfospel  and  to  administer 
ordinances,  is  to  perpetrate  a  priestly  fraud,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  priestly  power.  The  liberty  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  world  is  bound  up  in  the  question 
of  "  orders"  and  "  ordination  ;"  and  you,  Sir,  and  every 
other  educated  layman,  should  see  to  it  that  the  pedan- 
tic priests  and  bishops  who  go  through  our  land  flout- 
ing their  authority  and  their  lawn  in  our  face,  and  sep- 
arating us  from  the  gracious  care  of  our  Father  who  is 
in  heaven,  because  our  faith  is  not  lame  enough  to  ad- 
mit  their  claims,  should  not  have  it  all  their  own  way. 
They  are  all,  so  far  forth,  engaged,  whether  they  hail 
from  Rome  or  from  Oxford,  in  palming  an  imposition 


32  kirwan's    letters. 

The  Bible  prohibited.  Replies  of  my  valet. 

on  their  race,  and  are  not  the  less  culpable  because 
some  of  them  may  be  honest. 

While  the  Romish  Church  thus  claims  enormous 
authority  for  its  priests,  it  virtually  forbids  the  "Word 
of  Grod  to  its  people.  I  say  virtually,  because  I  do  not 
wish  to  enter  into  the  question  as  to  the  teachings  of 
the  Church  on  this  subject,  which  are  wisely  of  such 
an  elastic  character  as  will  enable  a  bishop  to  assert  in 
New  York,  and  to  deny  in  Rome.  Yet  a  real  prohibi- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  to  the  masses  is  not  a  position 
very  difficult  to  establish.  But  what  is  the  actual 
state  of  things  where  Popery  is  in  power  ?  The  Bible, 
as  a  rule,  is  unknown  in  Italy.  I  have  conversed  with 
a  noble  Christian  man  who  was  exiled  from  Rome *f or 
introducing  into  that  city  some  copies  of  the  Latin  Bi- 
ble. After  having  in  vain  sought  for  a  Bible  in  many 
shops  in  Naples,  I  said  to  my  valet,  a  sensible  man  of 
fifty,  "  John,  have  you  ever  read  a  Bible  ?"  "  No, 
sir,"  was  the  reply.  "  Have  you  ever  seen  a  Bible  ?" 
Again  he  replied,  "  No,  sir."  "  As  Grod  has  given  the 
Bible  to  man,  why  is  it  not  to  be  found  in  Naples  ?" 
"  The  bishop  and  priests  forbid  its  circulation,  sir,  and 
forbid  us  to  read  it."  "  And  why,  John,  do  they  for- 
bid your  reading  of  it  ?"  "  0,"  said  he,  with  that 
shrug  of  the  shoulders  so  peculiar  to  the  Italian,  "they 
think  that  if  we  should  read  the  Bible,  we  would  be- 
come Protestants,  and  they  would  not  like  that."  Here 
is  the  revelation  of  the  whole  secret.  And,  as  the 
world  knows,  you  can  be  no  stranger  to  events  which 
have  within  a  few  weeks  transpired  in  Florence,  where 
individuals  have  been  exiled,  imprisoned,  and  con- 
demned to  the  galleys  for  meeting  to  read  the  Bible  in 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  33 


Why  fear  the  Bible  ?  The  fraud  of  withholding  it 

private  houses.     And  why,  Sir,  this  fear  of  the  Bible  ? 
Because  it  is  the  divine  charter  of  the  Church  of  Grod 
and  of  our  religious  rights.    If  any  man  questions  your 
authority,  you  have  no  fear  of  his  reading  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.     The  Prime  Minister  of 
England  never  thinks  of  forbidding  the  people  to  read 
its  Constitution  and  laws.     If  a  question  should  come 
before  your  court  for  decision  in  reference  to  a  close 
corporation,  which  sought  to  eject  a  large  number  of 
citizens  from  their  lands  and  tenements  ;  and  if,  on  ex- 
amination, you  found  that  the  said  corporation  had  se- 
creted all  papers  pertaining  to  their  own  claims,  and 
to  the  title  of  the  citizens,  and  had  forbidden  the  citi- 
zens to   make   any  investigations  as  to  then  rights, 
would  you  not  be  liable  to  infer  that  there  was  a  dead 
fly  in  the  pot  of  ointment ;  that  the  corporation  wished 
to  perpetrate  a  glaring  fraud  ?     Now,  Sir,  the  Romish 
priesthood  is  a  close  corporation  ;  that  corporation  puts 
forth  claims  in  the  name  of  Grod,  deeply  affecting  your 
individual  interests  and  mine,  as  well  as  those  of  all 
men  and  of  all  nations.     Those  claims,  if  right,  must 
be  founded  on  the  Bible  ;  if  not  there  authorized,  they 
are  not  to  be  allowed  for  a  moment,  and  their  claim- 
ants should  be  held  up  to  universal  execration.     That 
they  are  not  authorized  by  the  Bible,  Pope,  bishops, 
and  priests  well  know ;    and  hence  their  dire,  their 
sleepless  opposition  to  its  circulation,  and  to  its  perusal 
by  the  people.     And  by  withholding  the  Bible  from 
those  to  whom  (rod  has  given  it,  they  are  perpetrating 
a  great  frau£  uporf  the  people,  and  simply  and  only 
for  the  purpose  of  perpetuating  their  ghostly  power. 
Sir,  there  is  just  as  much  to  support  Romanism  in  the 

B2 


34  kirwan's  letters. 

Romanism  a  system  of  policy,  not  a  Church. 

Bible,  as  there  is  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  no  more.  And  if  Pius  IX.,  or  his  spy  in 
New  York,  deny  this,  I  am  willing  to  meet  either  of 
them  before  you,  and,  after  a  full  hearing  on  both  sides, 
to  leave  the  decision  of  the  question  with  you.  And 
surely  they  will  not  question  your  sympathies,  seeing 
they  have  had  confidence  enough  in  their  Lateran 
leanings  to  dedicate  a  work  to  you  containing  a  vindi- 
cation of  the  bloody  Inquisition. 

Romanism,  then,  is  a  system  of  policy  framed  to 
sustain  and  extend  its  power,  and  by  means  such  as 
we  now  state  to  you.  Can  it  be  a,  or  the,  Church  of 
God  ?  As  a  system  of  policy,  it  is,  like  Saint  Peter's, 
a  gorgeous  structure :  it  contains  within  it  many  things 
which  strike  the  beholder  with  wonder ;  but,  Sir,  can 
it  be  a  Church  of  Grod  ? 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  35 


Pope  and  cardinals  in  the  Sistine. 


LETTER   IV. 

Romanism  not  the  Religion  of  the  New  Testament. — A  Combination 
of  various  political  Elements. — A  political  Compound. — Great  Delu- 
sions always  put  forth  monstrous  Claims. — Priestly  Pretensions  to 
be  spurned. 

My  dear  Sir, — In  my  last  letter  I  presented  for 
your  consideration  the  statement  that  Romanism  is 
more  a  system  of  policy  to  retain  and  extend  its  pow- 
er than  a  religious  system.  Although  a  layman,  and, 
from  the  nature  of  your  profession,  not  deeply  read  in 
religious  controversies,  yet  it  must  be  quite  apparent 
to  you  that  Romanism,  as  a  system,  is  greatly  dis- 
similar to  the  system  of  religion  taught  in  the  New 
Testament.  Have  you  ever  seen  the  Pope  in  Saint 
Peter's,  or  in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  at  the  mass  ?  If 
not,  you  have  yet  to  see  a  farce,  and  the  more  laugh- 
able because  of  its  mock  solemnity.  If  you  have,  then 
let  me  ask  you,  do  you  think  Christ  was  ever  so  dress- 
ed, or  that  he  ever  so  acted  ?  Can  you  conceive  of  any 
thing  at  a  farther  remove  from  the  simplicity  of  his 
character  as  portrayed  by  the  Evangelists  ?  Have  you 
seen  the  cardinals,  with  their  scarlet  carriages,  scar- 
let robes,  and  scarlet  skull-caps,  going  through  their 
maneuvers  in  the  Sistine  ?  Can  you  conceive  that 
ever  the  Apostles  condescended  to  act  a  part  in  such  a 
scene  of  gorgeous  buffoonery  ?  You  perhaps  occasion- 
ally visit  the  cathedral  of  the  city  of  your  residence  ; 


6    '  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


Romanism  not  Christianity.  R^  despotism. 

have  you  the  least  conception  that  God  was  so  wor- 
shiped by  apostles,  or  ministers,  or  congregations,  in 
the  first  age  or  ages  of  Christianity  ?  Where,  in  those 
days,  could  they  light  up  their  wax  candles,  or  pack 
away  their  crooks  and  their  crosiers,  or  carry  their 
vestments,  or  burn  their  incense  ?  A  careful  compari- 
son, in  this  way,  of  Romanism  and  Christianity,  must 
convince  a  mind  disciplined  as  is  yours  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  semblance  of  relationship  between  them. 
Whence,  then,  is  Romanism,  as  a  system  of  policy  ? 
Regarded  as  a  religious  system,  it  is  a  mixture  of  Pa- 
ganism, Judaism,  and  Christianity  ;  as  a  system  to 
sustain,  and  perpetuate,  and  extend  its  power,  it  is  a 
mixture  of  the  various  political  elements  which  have 
risen  in  the  world  for  governing  and  grinding  the  peo- 
ple and  nations. 

As  a  system  of  policy,  it  has  in  it  a  strong  element 
of  despotism.  This  is  common  to  it  with  all  false 
systems.  The  external  arrangement  called  "  the  body 
of  the  Church"  is  simply  this  :  Christ  appointed  apos- 
tles— over  these  he  placed  Peter  as  Pope — to  these  and 
their  successors  he  committed  the  government  of  the 
Church  in  all  ages  and  countries,  and  the  power  of  the 
keys  to  bind  or  to  loose,  as  they  deemed  proper.  And 
in  virtue  of  his  being  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Pope  claims  supreme  authority  over  things  temporal 
as  well  as  spiritual.  Here  is  despotism,  not  as  a  doc- 
trine of  expediency,  not  as  established  by  the  sword, 
but  as  set  up  by  the  sanction  of  Heaven  itself,  and  as 
clothed  with  divine  authority.  You,  Sir,  need  not  be 
informed  how  fully,  in  past  ages,  the  Pope  has  acted 
the  despot ;  nor  how  fully  he  acts  it  now,  where  he 


kirwan's   letters.  37 


Modeled  after  the  Roman  state. 


can,  nor  how  fully  he  would  act  it  over  us  all,  if  he 
could  ! 

Again ;  as  a  system  of  policy,  in  its  external  arrange- 
ment it  is  modeled  after  the  old  Roman  state.  The 
emperors  were  elective,  so  is  the  Pope.  Until  the  trans- 
fer of  the  seat  of  empire  by  Constantino  to  Byzantium, 
the  emperor  reigned  in  Rome  ;  there  reigns  the  Pope. 
"When  elected,  the  emperor  was  the  fountain  of  all  au- 
thority ;  so  is  the  Pope.  In  all  the  countries  which  lay 
under  the  shadow  of  his  sceptre,  the  emperor  had  his 
subordinates,  and  these  again  theirs,  down  to  the  low- 
est office  in  the  state  ;  so  has  the  Pope.  Cardinals, 
archbishops,  bishops,  priests,  deacons,  canons,  monks, 
friars,  are  but  the  higher  and  lower  constabulary  of  the 
Pope,  through  which  he  seeks  to  collect  into  his  own 
hands  the  reins  of  universal  government,  and  to  hold 
in  allegiance  the  nations  to  Papal,  as  the  Caesars  held 
them  to  Pagan  Rome.  There  can  not  be  a  doubt  but 
that  the  Roman  state  was  the  model  after  which,  in  its 
main  features,  wily  ecclesiastics  modeled  the  -Roman 
Church.  "When  Caesar  retired  to  the  Bosphorus,  the  Pope 
wisely  preferred  to  remain  on  the  Tiber  ;  and  as,  by  the 
progress  of  the  consumption  which  led  to  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Roman  empire,  the  reins,  one  after  the  other, 
fell  from  the  hands  of  the  weak  successors  of  Constan- 
tine,  the  Pope  was  very  careful  to  collect  them  into  his 
own  ;  and  thus,  by  slow  but  sure  stages,  he  grew  up 
to  the  possession  of  an  authority  more  extended  and 
powerful  than  emperor  ever  wielded,  and  in  the  exer- 
cise of  which  he  converted  emperors  into  his  waiters 
and  grooms.  Need  I,  Sir,  run  the  parallel  farther  ? 
The  likeness  is  as  striking  as  is  that  of  the  pictures  of 


38  kirwan's   letters. 


Likeness  of  the  Popes.  Feudal  system. 

the  Popes  in  the  Vatican  to  one  another.  There  is  not 
only  a  family  likeness  among  them,  but  it  would  seem 
as  if  they  were  all  sons  of  the  same  parents,  born  in  the 
same  age,  and  of  the  same  size,  and  as  if  all  of  them 
were  equally  healthy  and  burly.  As  they  look  down 
upon  you  from  the  walls  of  "  S.  Paolo  extra  muros," 
each  looks  as  if  he  were  a  twin-brother  to  the  other ; 
nor  do  any  of  them  look  as  if  upon  their  shoulders  was 
laid  the  weight  of  all  the  churches.  Any  of  them  might 
be  mistaken  for  a  likeness  of  the  man  who  was  clothed 
in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  who  fared  sumptuously 

every  day. 

Again ;   it  possesses  a  very  strong  dash  of  the  old 
feudal  system.     As  a  frame-work  of  policy,  Romanism 
is  not  the  work  of  an  age  or  a  century.     From  age  to 
ao-e,  it  has  sought  to  incorporate  with  itself  the  strong 
elements  of  other  systems,  that  by  twining  and  twisting 
them  together,  it  might  increase  its  power.     Now,  Sir, 
that  you  may  see  how  much  of  the  feudal  it  has  ap- 
propriated, permit  me  to  ask  you  to  read  again,  as  I 
have  no  doubt  you  have  read  them  once,  the  chapters 
of  Hallam  on  the  Feudal  System  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
or  the  remarks  of  Robertson  on  it,  in  his  Introduction 
to  the  History  of  Charles  Y.     As  self-defense  was  the 
chief  care  of  kings  and  conquerors,  they  parceled  out 
countries  among  their  chief  followers  on  the  condition 
that  they  should  appear  in  arms  when  required.     Per- 
sons receiving  land  were  to  contribute  men  and  means 
in  the  proportion  of  their  grants.  These  chief  men  made 
grants,   on  similar   conditions,  to  others ;    and  these, 
again,  to  others,  down  to  the  lowest  subdivision.     And 
thus,  by  grants  and  conditions,  the  different  classes  of 


kirwan's   letters.  39 


Its  strong  elements  incorporated. 


society  were  bound  to  the  next  highest,  and,  through 
the  chief  nobles,  were  bound  to  the  king  or  conqueror. 
And  in  the  proportion  of  their  possessions,  each  were 
bound  to  contribute  for  the  mutual  defense  to  the  power 
above  them.  Each  was  bound  to  sfird  on  his  sword  at 
the  command  of  his  superior.  It  was  at  this  time,  also, 
that  the  custom  sprang  up  of  nobles  dropping  their  own 
name  and  taking  that  of  their  estates,  which  is  yet  in 
existence.  This  system  had  its  strong  and  its  weak 
points.  The  weakest  point  was  the  absence  of  a  cen- 
tral power  to  balance  and  regulate  the  monarchical  and 
the  aristocratic  parts  ;  and  for  the  want  of  which  the 
whole  system  fell  into  confusion.  From  this  system, 
Romanism  selected  and  appropriated  its  strong  features, 
and  supplied  the  great  central,  regulating  power  which 
it  wanted,  as  any  intelligent  mind  can  see  in  a  moment. 
The  Pope  is  a  king ;  by  feudal  tenures  he  parcels  out 
the  Papal  world  among  his  archbishops  and  bishops  ; 
and  these,  again,  among  their  subordinates.  Cardinals, 
archbishops,  and  bishops  swear  to  him  allegiance,  and 
their  subordinates  to  them.  And  when  the  head  of  this 
system  is  in  a  strait,  he  has  only  to  apply  to  his  chief 
vassals,  and  they  pass  the  word  to  the  next  below,  and 
these,  again,  to  their  inferiors ;  and  soon  the  Papal  world 
is  in  motion  to  supply  the  requisite  assistance.  Thus 
it  was  in  the  Papal  wars — thus  it  was  recently  in  the 
collection  of  the  Peter-pence,  to  sustain  a  weak  and 
profligate  set  of  priests  when  scheming  and  chamber- 
ing in  Graeta.  And  see  the  way  and  manner  in  which 
priests,  when  made  bishops,  drop  the  names  which  their 
fathers  gave  them,  as  if  ashamed  of  them,  and  assume 
the  name  of  the  territory  over  which  their  king  has 


40  kirwan's    letters. 

A  monstrous  fabrication.  Divine  claims. 

given  them  jurisdiction,  as  a  farther  evidence  of  this 
feudalism.  England  has  its  "  Nicholas  of  Westmin- 
ster"— we  have  our  "  John  of  New  York"  —  and  you, 
ere  this,  have  your  Patrick  of  Baltimore  ;  while  in  old, 
dilapidated  Rome,  a  clever  and  good-looking  old  gen- 
tleman, who  is  far  more  a  prisoner  than  a  king,  and 
much  more  of  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  his  cardinals 
than  an  independent  ruler,  is  acting  the  universal  bish- 
op under  the  sobriquet  of  Pio  Nono. 

All  this,  Sir,  is  to  suggest  a  true  analysis  of  "the ex- 
ternal arrangement,"  as  our  friend  of  New  York  would 
say,  which  is  known  as  the  Romish  Church.  Take 
away  from  it  all  its  despotism,  all  that  it  borrowed 
from  the  Roman  state  when  governed  by  emperors,  and 
all  that  it  appropriated  from  the  feudal  system,  which  so 
widely  obtained  in  Europe  from  the  seventh  to  the  elev- 
enth centuries,  and  what  is  there  left?  Not  enough 
to  command  the  respect  of  an  Alpine  cretin,  save  what 
it  holds  in  common  with  Protestants. 

And  yet,  Sir,  this  compound  of  various  political  ele- 
ments, cemented  together  by  the  priestcraft  and  cun- 
ning of  ages,  is  u  the  external  arrangement"  which  Pa- 
pal priests  would  palm  on  the  world  as  the  Church  of 
God,  founded  on  the  apostles  and  prophets,  and  forti- 
fied by  divine  sanctions,  and  out  of  which  there  is  no 
salvation  !  Can  you  conceive  of  a  more  monstrous  fab- 
rication  : 

Permit  me,  Sir,  also  to  remind  you  of  the  fact  that 
this  thing  of  dealing  out  damnation  to  the  nonrecipi- 
ents  of  theories  is  always  an  accompaniment  of  grand 
delusions.  The  claim  of  divine  authority  for  priestly 
nonsense  and  fabrications  is  no  new  thing  under  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  41 

Duty  of  laymen.  Need  of  patience, 

sun.  It  is  put  forth  as  boldly  by  Pagan  as  by  Papal 
priests,  and  is  asserted  as  impudently  in  Stamboul  as 
in  Rome.  You  know  it  is  death  by  law,  and  without 
benefit  of  clergy,  for  a  Mohammedan  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian whiLe  residing  under  the  shadow  of  the  crescent, 
and  that  Paganism  thunders  its  excommunications 
against  all  who  abandon  its  superstitious  rites.  The 
foundation  of  all  this  lies  in  the  inherent  weakness  of 
the  theories  put  forward,  and  of  the  claims  asserted  ; 
and  the  object  is  to  quell  scrutiny,  and  to  induce  faith 
by  authority  and  by  fear.  Grod  is  the  Father  of  us  all ; 
and  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Savior  of  all  who  believe  upon 
him  ;  and  how  preposterous  for  Pagan,  Papal,  Protest- 
ant, or  Mohammedan  priest  to  cut  us  off  from  the  grace 
and  love  of  our  heavenly  Father  because  we  deny  their 
claims,  discard  then  rites,  and  refuse  to  submit  to  their 
manipulations !  Sir,  the  intelligent  laymen  of  this  land, 
and  of  all  lands,  should  seek  fully  to  comprehend  the 
great  interests  of  humanity  involved  in  these  priestly 
pretensions ;  and  while  rejecting  them  themselves,  they 
should  see  to  it  that  the  most  ignorant  of  the  people 
should  not  be  deluded  by  our  swarming,  imported,  and 
ghostly  pretenders.  For  myself,  when  I  meet  with  a 
man  dressed  in  ecclesiastical  livery,  urging  upon  me 
or  others  theories  of  human  device  as  to  the  external 
arrangements  of  the  Church,  and  seeking  to  compel 
my  belief  in  them  with  the  threat  of  damnation  if  I 
reject  them,  I  can  scarcely  resist  the  conviction  that 
he  is  either  a  knave,  or  a  fanatic,  or  a  fool.  And  it 
sometimes  requires  a  little  more  of  the  grace  of  pa- 
tience than  I  possess  to  forbear  telling  him  so. 

"With  great  respect,  yours. 


42  kirwan's   letters. 


Romanism  as  a  religious  system.  Naples. 


LETTER  V. 

Romanism  as  a  religious  System.—Naples.— St.  Paul  Major  a  Type  of 
the  Paganism  of  Romanism. — Holy  Water— how  made. — Its  Uses  and 
Ends.— St.  Anthony's  Day.— The  Origin  of  Holy  Water. 

My  dear  Sir, — Hitherto  I  have  only  asked  your  at- 
tention to  the  "  external  arrangements"  of  Romanism, 
which  is  called  "  the  body  of  the  Church."  I  have 
stated  to  you  their  causes  and  their  ingredients,  and 
that  these  arrangements  form  a  system  of  policy  to  sus- 
tain and  extend  the  power  and  the  dominion  claimed  by 
the  priests.  In  its  external  form,  Romanism  hears  no 
possible  likeness  to  Christianity  as  it  received  its  sim- 
ple habit  from  its  glorious  and  glorified  head.  I  shall 
now  ask  you  to  pass  with  me  to  the  examination  of  Ro- 
manism as  a  religious  system,  premising  that,  in  this 
respect  also,  we  shall  find  it  at  an  equal  remove  from 
Christianity,  as  we  did  its  external  form. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-eighth  of  May 
that  the  steamer  Bosphorus  came  to  anchor  in  the  Bay 
of  Naples.  As  the  morning  sun  was  shedding  its  first 
bright  beams  on  the  surrounding  scenery,  I  opened  the 
window  of  my  state-room,  and  lo  !  the  summit  of  the 
fiery  Vesuvius  was  smoking  before  me !  The  desire  of 
many  a  long  year  was  gratified.  Soon  we  all  debarked, 
and  after  locating  myself  in  a  quiet  hotel  facing  the 
magnificent  bay,  and  in  a  room  from  which  I  had  a 
view  of  the  harbor,  its  islands  and  surrounding  mount- 


kirwan's   letters.  43 

Every  thing  new.  St.  Paul  Major.  A  heathen  temple. 

ains,  I  went  forth  with  my  friend  and  our  valet  to  see 
sights.  It  was  here  that  I  first  touched  Italian  soil,  and 
that  I  first  mingled  with  the  people  of  Italy.  Every 
thing  struck  me  as  new,  strange,  and  peculiar.  Such 
crowds  of  soldiers,  priests,  beggars,  and  donkeys  I  had 
never  seen.  In  beauty  of  scenery,  and  in  the  squalid 
wretchedness  of  masses  of  the  people,  Naples  stands 
pre-eminent.  To  the  causes  of  this  wretchedness  I  may 
allude  hereafter.  During  the  morning  I  made  a  visit 
to  the  Church  of  Saint  Paul  Major,  which  is  one  of 
the  sights  of  this  beautifully  located,  but  misgoverned, 
priest-ridden,  and  degraded  city.  This  is  really  the  old 
temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux  transformed  into  a  church. 
There  stand  the  old  pillars  of  the  heathen  temple ;  there, 
before  the  door,  is  the  statue  of  a  heathen  god  convert- 
ed into  a  statue  of  St.  Paul :  on  either  side  of  the  great 
door,  and  over  it,  are  left  remaining  the  pictures  of  the 
heathen  priests  offering  sacrifices,  and  all  over  the  in- 
terior of  the  building  are  the  representations  of  heathen 
mythology,  mixed  and  mingled  up  with  the  representa- 
tions of  the  myths  and  superstitions  of  Popery.  Priests 
in  their  robes  were  mumbling  mass  at  its  altars,  wom- 
en and  besrgars  were  either  kneeling  before  the  altars 
and  gazing  around,  or  were  pestering  you  for  alms  at 
every  turn.  And  to  a  person  at  all  acquainted  with 
heathen  mythology,  with  Roman  antiquities,  and  with 
the  way  and  manner  of  the  worship  of  the  old  Italians, 
the  conception,  on  entering  this  church,  would  be  nei- 
ther violent  nor  unnatural  that  he  was  in  a  heathen 
temple,  whose  altars  were  surrounded  by  heathen 
priests,  upon  which  they  were  offering  their  unmean- 
ing sacrifices.     Such,  Sir,  was  the  strong  impression 


44  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Paganism  of  Romanism.  Holy  water.  How  made. 

made  upon  my  own  mind  as  I  walked  around  the  old 
temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  now  called  the  Church 
of  Saint  Paul  at  Naples.  And  unless,  Sir,  you  have 
already  given  it  your  attention,  you  will  he  amazed  to 
find  how  largely  Romanism  has  drawn  upon  Paganism 
in  the  formation  of  that  compound  which  it  calls  Cath 
olic  Christianity.  And  to  the  Paganism  of  Romanism, 
as  symholized  in  that  old  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux, 
I  would  respectfully  ask  your  attention. 

On  entering  a  Romish  Church,  the  first  thing  that 
strikes  you  as  peculiar  is  the  stone  or  marble  basin  of 
holy  water  placed  near  the  door,  in  which  the  more  ig- 
norant and  devout  dip  their  fingers,  and  then,  with  their 
wet  fingers,  make  upon  themselves  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
Holy  water,  you  know,  is  a  thing  of  universal  use,  and 
to  which  is  ascribed  wonderful  potency  in  the  Romish 
system.  Have  you,  Sir,  ever  seen  the  farcical  ceremony 
by  which  common  water  is  made  holy  ?  If  not,  permit 
me  to  describe  it  to  you,  as  I  have  recently  witnessed 
it  myself.  Connected  with  the  Basilica  of  St.  John 
Lateran  at  Rome  is  the  baptistry  said  to  have  been 
built  by  Constantine  in  which  to  receive  baptism  from 
Pope  Silvester.  Every  thing  in  Rome,  you  know,  must 
have  a  history,  or  tradition  of  some  kind  ;  and  these  are 
easily  manufactured,  if  they  do  not  truly  exist.  Learn- 
ing that  there  was  to  be  a  peculiar  ceremony  there  of 
some  kind,  I  sallied  out  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of 
June  to  witness  it,  in  company  with  some  friends. 
"We  entered  the  little  ^ra  of  a  building,  and  in  its  cen 
tre,  beneath  a  cupola  supported  by  columns,  was  a  large 
antique  urn,  almost  as  large  as  a  bathing  tub,  filled 
with  water.     Save  a  few  ragged  boys  and  beggars,  my- 


's     LETTERS.  45 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


The  ceremony  described. 


self  and  friends  were  the  only  persons   yet  present. 
Soon  the  voice  of  melody  was  heard  in  the  direction  of 
the  church,  which  came  from  a  bareheaded  procession, 
dressed  for  the  occasion,  on  its  way  to  the  baptistry. 
A  sleepy  bishop,  that  we  had  seen  drowsing  on  former 
occasions,  when  boys  were  swinging  their  incense  vases 
before  him,  brought  up  the  rear,  most  gaudily  dressed, 
and  with  an  umbrella  held  over  his  head.     Singing, 
they  entered  the  chapel,  and  surrounded  the  urn.     The 
bishop    read   a   little  —  then    all   sang,    and   chanted. 
Thrice,  at  intervals,  the  bishop,  with  his  hand,  made  the 
sign  of  the  cross  in  the  water,  making  quite  a  raffle  on 
its  surface  as  he  drew  his  hand  through  it ;  thrice,  at 
intervals,  he  breathed  into  the  water,  commanding  it  at 
each  time  to  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.     Then,  from  a 
vessel  like  a  coffee-pot,  he  poured  oil  into  it  in  the  form 
of  a  cross  ;  and  from  another  similar  vessel,  at  a  brief 
interval,  he  poured  some  other  liquid  into  the  tub,  again 
in  the  figure  of  a  cross.     At  another  interval  he  took 
both  vessels  by  the  handles   in  his  right  hand,  and 
bringing  their  spouts  near  together,  he  poured  into  the 
tub  a  little  stream  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  formed  by  the 
liquids  from  both  vessels  uniting.     A  powder,  some- 
thing like  fine  salt,  was  also  cast  into  it.     Then,  after 
mixing  up  all  together,  he  washed  his  hands  in  the  com- 
pound, which  were  most  reverently  wiped  by  his  at- 
tendants.    Before  putting  them  in  the  water,  his  hands 
were  divested  of  tfteir  gloves  and  rings,  and  were  most 
devoutly  kissed  ;  as  was  his  crook  when  taken  by  his 
attendants.     Thus  common  was  changed  into  holy  wa- 
ter by  one  of  the  most  silly  and  blasphemous  ceremo- 
nies it  was  ever  my  lot  to  witness.     After  sprinkling 


46  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


Meaning  of  holy  water.  Its  uses. 

the  faithful  around,  they  retired  to  the  church  with 
procession  and  singing  as  they  came,  where  mass  was 
said,  without  any  hut  the  priests  and  their  waiters  to 
hear  it.  It  was  thus  I  saw  holy  water  made  in  Rome. 
The  supremely  ridiculous  and  superstitious  way  in 
which  it  is  ordinarily  made,  you  may  see  in  the  closing 
chapter  of  Challoner's  Catholic  Christian  Instructed,  a 
monument  to  the  credulity  and  folly  of  its  author. 

While  doctors  differ  as  to  the  ohject  and  meaning  of 
holy  water,  it  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  the 
purity  with  which  we  should  approach  Grod  in  worship. 
Grant  this  to  he  a  good  ohject,  and  an  excuse  for  the 
thing,  how  can  this  explain  its  other  applications  ?  It 
is  sprinkled  upon  candles — upon  palms  on  Palm- Sun- 
day— upon  the  garments  of  the  living — upon  the  cof- 
fins of  the  dead — upon  dogs,  sheep,  asses,  mules,  beds, 
houses,  meat,  hells,  fortifications,  and  cannon.  "  Noth- 
ing," says  Croly,  "  can  he  blessed  or  hallowed  without 
it ;  neither  candles,  nor  new  fruit,  nor  new-laid  eggs. 
Even  the  butter-churn  is  sprinkled  with  it  be- 
fore churning  commences,  that  the  cream  may  work 
the  better.  It  purifies  the  air — heals  distempers  — 
cleanses  the  soul — expels  Satan  and  his  imps  from 
haunted  houses — and  introduces  the  Holy  Grhost  as  an 
inmate  in  their  stead."  And  that  you,  Sir,  may  not 
esteem  this  an  exaggeration,  ponder  the  following  state- 
ment affixed  to  the  wall  over  the  vessels  of  holy  water 
in  the  Church  of  S.  Carlo,  in  Rome.  There  it  is  not 
under  a  curtain,  like  some  of  the  miraculous  pictures, 
but  where  every  eye  can  see  it. 

"  The  Church  proposes  holy  water  as  a  remedy  and 
assistant  in  many  circumstances,  both  spiritual  and  cor- 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  47 


Spiritual  and  corporeal.  St-  Anthony 

poreal,  but  especially  in  these  following.     Its  spiritual 
uses  are : 

"  1.  It  drives  away  devils  from  places  and  persons. 

"  2.  It  affords  assistance  against  fears  and  diabolical 
illusions. 

"  3.  It  cancels  venial  sins. 

"  4.  It  imparts  strength  to  resist  temptations. 

"  5.  It  drives  away  wicked  thoughts. 

"6.  It  preserves  safely  from  the  passing  snares  of 
the  devil. 

"7.  It  obtains  the  favor  and  presence  of  the  Holy 
Grhost. 

"  Its  corporeal  uses  are  : 

"  1.  It  is  a  remedy  against  barrenness,  both  in  wom- 
en and  beasts. 

"  2.  It  is  a  preservative  from  sickness. 

"3.  It  heals  the  infirmities  of  the  mind  and  body. 

"  4.  It  purifies  infected  air,  and  drives  away  plague 
and  contagion." 

This  is  the  substance,  though  not  a  literal  or  full 
translation  of  the  document.  Must  not,  Sir,  the  com- 
mon-sense, equally  with  the  religious  sentiment  of  the 
world,  brand  all  this  as  a  vile  and  wicked  imposition  ? 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  or  lowest  use  of  holy  water. 
You  have  heard,  no  doubt,  of  the  good  Saint  Anthony, 
of  blessed  memory.  He  was  a  rare  personage,  and  his 
festival  is  on  the  17th  of  January.  Balacius,  king  of 
E°ypt,  when  persecuting  the  Christians,  was  exhorted 
by  this  saint  to  permit  Grod's  people  to  live  in  peace. 
The  king  tore  the  letter  in  pieces,  and  resolved  to  make 
Anthony  his  next  victim.  Five  days  after,  when  riding 
out,  his  remarkably  tame  horse  threw  him  to  the  earth, 


48  kirwan's  letters. 

Horses  sprinkled.  Holy  water  a  heathen  rite. 

and  then  turning  round,  bit  and  tore  his  thigh  so  ter- 
ribly that  he  died  in  three  days.  From  this,  or  some 
other  legend  equally  veracious,  Anthony  is  made  the 
patron  saint  of  horses,  and  they  have  gotten  up  in  Rome 
the  blessing  of  horses  on  Saint  Anthony's  day,  and  this 
is  done  by  sprinkling  them  with  holy  water.  On  that 
day,  the  horses,  mules,  and  donkeys  of  the  city  of  Ptome 
and  of  the  surrounding  country,  gayly  dressed,  are  pa- 
raded before  the  church  of  this  saint,  where  a  priest 
takes  them  under  the  care  of  holy  Saint  Anthony,  and 
then  sprinkles  them  with  holy  water,  receiving  some 
small  remuneration  for  each  horse,  mule,  or  donkey 
which  he  thus  purines.  And  the  poor  people  of  Rome 
are  made  to  believe  that,  unless  their  horses,  mules,  and 
donkeys  are  thus  besprinkled  with  holy  water,  they  will 
stumble,  or  fall,  or  die,  or  receive  some  serious  injury 
through  the  year  !  These,  Sir,  are  some  of  the  various 
uses  and  benefits  of  holy  water !  Is  it  possible  to  con- 
ceive of  impositions  more  barefaced  or  dishonest !  And 
all  this  is  under  the  eye  of  the  Pope,  who  patronizes 
the  iniquity  by  yearly  sending  his  own  horses  for  a 
sprinkling ! 

And  the  question  arises,  Whence  this  custom,  so 
wicked,  so  foolish  ?  There  are  no  traces  of  it  in  the 
Bible  ;  there  is  scarcely  a  pretension  to  this  by  Papal 
doctors.  It  is  purely  a  heathen  custom,  transferred  by 
the  priests  from  heathenism  into  the  Church  for  the 
purpose  of  facilitating  the  passing  over  of  the  heathen 
from  Paganism  to  Popery.  What  was  at  first  a  mat- 
ter of  policy  became  soon  a  matter  of  faith ;  and  now 
a  font  of  holy  water  is  of  far  more  importance  to  the 
complete  finish  of  a  Romish  church  than  the  Bible. 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  49 

Dr.  Middleton's  letter.  A  Pagan  rite  for  gain. 

Indeed,  while  the  Bible  is  supplanted  by  the  Mass-book 
and  the  Missal,  the  font  of  holy  water  is  never  absent. 
Your  own  acquaintance,  Sir,  with  classic  literature  and 
heathen  mythology  will  supply  you  with  the  proofs 
which  establish  the  Pagan  origin  of  holy  water.  And 
if  you  have  not  time  to  look  them  up,  I  would  refer 
you,  for  some  of  them,  to  "  Dr.  Middleton's  Letter  from 
Rome." 

You,  Sir,  know  how  much  is  made  of  holy  water  in 
the  Church  with  which  you  hold  a  nominal  connection. 
Its  origin,  beyond  all  question,  is  Pagan,  and  is  so  ad- 
mitted by  some  Papal  writers.  And  as  I  have  seen 
priests  in  Ireland  passing  through  crowded  chapels,  fol- 
lowed by  boys  bearing  a  tub  of  water,  in  which  he  ever 
and  anon  dipped  a  big  brush  and  scattered  it  over  the 
people — as,  in  the  Madeleine,  in  Paris,  I  saw  an  old 
monk  standing  by  the  door  in  the  railing  which  fences 
out  some  and  fences  in  others,  holding  a  brush  wet  with 
holy  water  in  his  hand,  that  the  polite  Parisians  might 
touch  it  with  their  finsrers — as  I  saw  the  thins:  manu- 
factured  by  tubs-full  in  Rome,  and  by  the  priests  of  St. 
John  Lateran,  the  holiest  church  in  the  world,  "  Eccle- 
sia  urbis  et  orbis,  mater  et  caput  ecclesiarum,"  I  could 
not  help  thinking  that,  so  far  forth,  these  Papal  were 
Pagan  priests,  practicing  a  Pagan  rite,  and  for  no  other 
motive  but  the  gain  which  it  brought  them. 

I  shall  return  to  the  Paganism  of  Romanism  in  my 
next. 

"With  great  respect,  yours. 

C 


50  kirwan's  letters. 


The  Sistine.  Its  appearance. 


LETTER   VI. 

The  Sistine  Chapel.— Angelo's  Painting.— The  Artist's  Reply.— In- 
cense.— Its  Pagan  Origin.— Candles:  their  Use,  End,  and  Origin.— 
Candlemass  in  Rome.— The  Light  of  Candles.can  not  supply  the  Light 
of  Truth. 

My  dear  Sir, — As  I  promised  you  at  the  close  of  my 
last  epistle,  I  return  again  to  the  examination  of  the 
Paganism  of  Romanism.  I  have  already  shown  you 
that  holy  water,  botli  as  to  its  origin,  and  as  to  its 
multifarious  and  ridiculous  uses,  is  of  Pagan  origin. 
Let  me  now  ask  your  attention  to  other  things,  form- 
ing at  all  times  and  places  essential  components  of  the 
Romish  service. 

As  I  entered  the  Sistine  Chapel  at  Rome,  so  famed 
in  the  annals  of  art,  I  was  strangely  overwhelmed  with 
a  feeling  of  disappointment.  It  is  an  oblong  and  lofty 
room,  about  thrice  the  length  of  its  width,  and  divided 
by  a  low  railing  into  three  compartments.  In  the 
most  distant  of  these  compartments,  as  you  enter,  is 
the  altar,  and  the  Pope's  chair ;  and  around  it  are 
benches  for  the  cardinals.  The  middle  compartment 
is  entirely  vacant,  with  nothing  but  standing-places 
for  the  spectators  ;  the  outer  one  has  some  plain  bench- 
es, and  is  appropriated  to  the  ladies  during  the  hours 
of  worship.  As  there  was  no  person  there  save  the 
door-keeper,  and  a  painter  who  was  transferring  to  his 
canvas  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  I  walked  leisurely 


kirwan's   letters.  51 


Angelo's  picture.  Artist's  reply.  St.  Gudule. 

round,  and  without  any  let  or  hinderance.  Angelo's 
great  fresco  of  the  Judgment,  sixty  by  thirty  feet, 
and  so  long  the  wonder  of  art,  was  before  me.  I  gazed 
upon  it  from  various  points  to  get  a  clear  view  of  it, 
but  in  vain.  I  borrowed  the  magnifying-glass  of  the 
painter,  and  gazed  through  that,  but  yet  in  vain. 
"What,"  said  I  to  the  painter,  "is  the  matter  with 
these  paintings  ?  Is  it  the  fault  of  the  light  that  I 
can  not  see  them  clearly  ?  or  have  the  colors  faded  ?" 
"  No,"  said  he  ;  "  it  is  the  effect  of  that  ridiculous  in- 
cense which  they  burn  here  at  mass  ;"  and  he  uttered 
the  sentiment  with  a  tone  and  manner  which  showed 
that  lie,  at  least,  was  incensed  by  the  frivolous,  but 
yet,  to  the  paintings  of  Angelo,  injurious  ceremonial. 
And  if  the  cause  assigned  was  the  true  one,  I  felt,  at 
the  moment,  as  if  every  mcense  vase  in  Rome  should 
be  cast  into  the  muddy  Tiber  ;  nor  do  I  yet  feel  that, 
by  committing  such  an  act,  any  man  would  burden 
his  soul  with  the  sin  of  sacrilege.  I  witnessed  mass 
afterward  in  the  Sistine,  and  saw  clouds  of  incense 
rise  and  spread  themselves  all  around,  and  thick 
enough  to  set  weak  luns:s  a  coughing.  The  last  scene 
of  this  kind  that  I  witnessed  was  in  St.  G-udule,  the 
cathedral  at  Brussels.  It  was  on  a  fine  Sabbath  morn- 
ing in  June,  when  the  feast  of  some  saint  brought  a 
lar^e  number  of  clergy  and  several  bishops  together. 
The  latter  were  more  richly  decorated  than  any  I  had 
previously  seen.  When  the  time  for  offering  incense 
arrived,  a  short  but  exceedingly  fat  man  came  to  the 
bishops  with  his  censer.  So  rotund  was  he,  that  it 
seemed  as  if  he  could  roll  as  easily  as  walk  ;  and  his 
efforts  to  go  from  one  bishop  to  another,  and  then  his 


52  kirwan's   letters. 


Incense.  An  emblem. 


efforts  to  get  round  his  enormous  belly,  so  as  to  give 
the  censer  the  ceremonial  swing,  made  it  as  ludicrous 
and  laughable  as  it  is  a  senseless  and  superstitious 
ceremony. 

In  the  matter  of  incense,  Sir,  you  well  know  that 
papal  priests  are  very  prodigal.  You  have  to  smell  it, 
and  breathe  it,  in  all  their  chapels  ;  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  priests  would  be  adding  something,  at  least,  to 
the  comfort  of  the  faithful  if  they  would  somehow  con- 
trive to  make  it  a  little  more  agreeable  to  the  sense  of 
smell,  which  it  is  very  pleasant  to  have  occasionally 
consulted.  You  enter  a  Romish  church  to  witness  the 
mass  :  at  a  certain  point  a  boy,  dressed  in  white,  ap- 
pears with  a  vessel — the  priest  puts  something  in  it, 
and  it  immediately  commences  to  smoke.  The  priest 
takes  it  and  throws  it  up  to  the  altar,  and  to  the  cruci- 
fix ;  the  boy  then  takes  it  and  throws  it  up  before  the 
priest,  and  other  persons  and  things.  And  before  the 
ceremony  is  ended,  the  smoke,  or,  as  it  is  called,  the 
incense,  fills  the  house.  This,  we  are  taught,  is  "  an 
emblem  of  prayer  ascending  to  God  from  a  heart  in- 
flamed with  his  love."  But  whence  this  custom  ?  Not 
from  Christ — not  from  his  apostles — not  a  command 
or  allusion  to  it  in  the  New  Testament.  Not  a  thing 
sufficient  to  sanction  it  even  in  the  typical  economy  of 
the  Jews.  And  if  an  emblem  of  prayer,  why  not  offer 
the  prayer  and  drop  the  emblem  ?  The  whole  thing, 
Sir,  is  transferred  bodily  from  Paganism,  as  any  person 
informed  about  Pagan  ceremonies  must  know.  Incense 
was  always  offered  to  the  gods  from  Pagan  altars,  and, 
as  we  may  learn  from  the  sculpture  and  pictures  which 
have  come  down  to  our  day,  very  much  in  the  manner 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  53 

Purely  Pagan.  Candles.  Vestal  Virgins. 

in  which  it  is  now  offered  in  Romish  churches — by  a 
boy  in  white  robes,  with  a  censer  in  his  hand.  And 
had  an  old  worshiper  of  Castor  and  Pollux  risen  from 
the  catacombs  and  entered  with  me  the  Church  of  St. 
Paul  Major  at  Naples,  he  would  have  felt  that,  although 
great  revolutions  had  taken  place  in  other  things,  his 
old  temple  and  its  worship  were  yet  mainly  the  same. 
There,  at  least,  were  the  holy  water  and  the  smoking 
incense,  just  as  he  had  left  them. 

Another  prominent  peculiarity  of  the  Romish  service 
is  the  use  of  candles.  These  are  seen  burning  on  all 
their  altars,  in  greater  or  less  profusion,  according  to 
the  eclat  of  the  occasion,  or  of  the  saint  or  sinner  on 
whose  feast-day  mass  is  offered.  I  have  seen  them 
burninsr  on  the  chief  altar  of  San  Carlo  in  the  Corso, 
in  numbers  beyond  my  computation,  standing  at  about 
the  centre  of  the  gorgeous  edifice ;  and  I  have  seen  them 
reduced  to  about  half  a  dozen  on  the  altar  of  the  Sis- 
tine,  when  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals  were  bowing  be- 
fore it.  I  have  seen  them,  Sir,  in  your  cathedral  at 
Baltimore,  on  Christmas  day,  as*  thick  and  countless  as 
trees  in  a  nursery  ;  and  the  tomb  of  Peter,  under  the 
great  cupola  of  Saint  Peter's  Church,  is  perpetually 
lighted  by  one  hundred  and  twelve  lamps,  disposed 
round  a  circular  balustrade.  These  lamps  never  go 
out;  forcibly  recalling  to  the  intelligent  mind  the  lights 
kept  perpetually  burning  on  the  Pagan  altars  in  Rome, 
by  the  Vestal  Virgins.  You,  Sir,  will  not  forget  what 
you  learned  in  your  schoolboy  days  on  that  subject ; 
but,  should  you  have  done  so,  you  can  easily  refresh 
your  memory  by  referring  to  your  "  Roman  Antiqui- 
ties." 


54  kirwan's   letters. 

Bishop  England.  Frank  confession. 

But  what  mean,  and  whence,  these  lighted  candles  ? 
Hear  what  Bishop  England — in  his  day  a  clever  man, 
and  an  excellent  judge  of  Irish  whiskey — says  in  reply : 
"  Lights  are  placed  on  the  altar  from  the  usage  of  the 
most  ancient  times.  It  is  an  Eastern  custom  to  ex- 
press joy  ;  for,  even  in  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  torches 
and  candles  were  lighted  to  manifest  this  feeling  ;  and, 
as  our  religion  is  received  from  the  East,  most  of  our 
ancient  customs  are  of  Eastern  origin."  Here  is  the 
whole  thing  confessed  by  a  Romish  bishop,  with  whom, 
no  doubt,  Sir,  you  were  acquainted,  and  who  flourished 
his  crook  and  his  crosier  in  the  city  of  Charleston. 
The  Pagans  of  the  East  expressed  their  joy  by  lighted 
torches  and  candles  ;  and,  as  Romanists  received  their 
religion  from  the  East,  they  adopted  this  among  other 
Eastern  customs  ! 

In  our  own  happy  America,  where  we  have  learned 
how  to  express  our  joy  without  lighting  lamps  or  can- 
dles, we  have  scarcely  any  idea  of  the  extent  to  which 
they  are  used  in  Papal  countries.  With  us  they  are 
used  whenever  mass  i»  said,  or  extreme  unction  is  ad- 
ministered, or  any  service  is  performed  at  the  altar  or 
chapel.  In  Rome,  and  the  countries  of  Italy,  they  are 
used  not  merely  in  these  ways,  but  in  all  ways.  1 
have  seen  them  burning  on  an  altar  in  the  catacombs 
of  Naples — before  images  of  the  Virgin  at  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  in  whiskey-shops,  and  by  the  way-side — 
in  the  gorgeous  processions  of  carrying  the  Host  to  some 
dying  person — at  funeral  processions.  Neither  the 
light  of  the  moon  and  stars  by  night,  nor  of  the  glori- 
ous sun  by  day,  is  sufficient  to  express  the  joy  of  a  Ro- 
manist ;  their  light  must  be  increased  by  that  of  a  few 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  55 

Candlemass.  How  kept  in  Rome. 

lamps  or  candles  in  order  to  obtain  their  object  and  to 
give  vent  to  their  feelings ! 

To  be  sure,  the  silliness  of  the  whole  thing  should 
save  it  from  this  sifting  ;  but  as  the  origin  of  the  mat- 
ter is  confessed,  and  these  candles  form  a  part  of  a  sys- 
tem addressed  to  the  senses,  let  us  not  yet  put  them 
out.  You  know  there  is  an  old  feast  called  C-a-n-d-1-e- 
m-a-s-s,  so  called  from  the  number  of  lighted  candles 
used  in  the  procession  of  the  day,  and  from  the  custom 
of  consecrating  candles  on  that  day  for  the  rest  of  the 
year.  Have  you,  Sir,  ever  seen  that  procession,  or  wit- 
nessed that  blessing  of  candles  ?  In  Rome  it  is  one 
of  the  most  gorgeous  festivals  of  the  year.  Sitting  in 
his  chair  of  state,  the  Pope  is  borne  on  the  shoulders 
of  eight  men  into  Saint  Peter's,  attended  by  huge  fans 
made  of  ostrich  feathers,  with  the  eyes  of  the  peacock's 
tail,  and  by  cardinals,  bishops,  prelates,  and  priests. 
When  every  thing  is  fixed  for  the  senseless  ceremony, 
candles  are  brought  to  him  in  immense  numbers. 
They  are  incensed,  sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and 
blessed.  Then  they  are  distributed.  Each  cardinal 
approaches,  receives  a  candle,  kisses  the  Pope's  hand, 
and  retires.  Each  bishop  approaches,  receives  a  can- 
dle, kisses  the  Pope's  knee,  and  retires.  Each  inferior 
functionary  on  the  occasion  approaches,  receives  a  can- 
dle, kisses  the  Pope's  foot,  and  retires.  On  a  sudden 
an  immense  number  of  candles  are  lighted,  in  the  blaze 
of  which  the  Pope  is  carried  round  the  church,  and  re- 
tires, granting  an  indulgence  of  thirty  years  to  all  the 
faithful  present !  This,  Sir,  is  Candlemass  at  Rome  ! 
And  if  you,  Sir,  or  I,  or  any  body  else,  wish  an  indul- 
gence to  cover  all  the  years  of  our  sojourn  here,  we 


56  kirwan's  letters. 

Candles  of  Pagan  origin. 

need  onlv  attend  the  feast  of  Candlemass  at  Saint  Pe- 
ter's  thrice ;  for  three  times  thirty  years  make  ninety ; 
and  beyond  ninety  years  we  will  not  probably  need  in- 
dulgence, save  from  our  heirs  or  our  nurses. 

As,  beyond  all  possibility,  this  can  not  be  Christian 
rite,  whence  is  it  ?  Bishop  England  says  it  is  of  East- 
ern origin  ;  every  body  acquainted  with  mythology  must 
confess  that  it  is  Pagan.  In  heathen  temples  lamps 
and  candles  were  ever  burning  on  the  altars,  and  be- 
fore the  statues  of  their  deities.  Donations  of  lamps 
and  candlesticks  were  often  made  to  temples  and  dei- 
ties. The  use  of  candles  in  Pagan  feasts  and  proces- 
sions is  first  traced  to  the  Egyptians,  who  had  their 
yearly  festival  of  "the  lighting  of  candles,"  some- 
what similar  to  that  in  Rome,  in  which  the  Pope  acts  so 
conspicuous  a  part.  And  some  of  the"  Christian  fathers 
thus  ridiculed  the  heathen  ;  "they  light  up  candles  to 
G-od  as  if  he  lived  in  the  dark  ;  but  do  they  not  deserve 
to  be  called  madmen  who  offer  lamps  to  the  Author 
and  Griver  of  light  ?"  The  whole  thing,  Sir,  is  ridicu- 
lous, and  is  transferred  bodily  and  confessedly  from 
Paganism.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures to  countenance  it.  And  should  some  Pagan  Ro- 
man come  forth  from  the  catacombs,  as  did  Lazarus 
from  the  grave,  at  the  bidding  of  Him  who  is  the  res- 
urrection and  the  life,  he  would  see  in  the  lamps  and 
candles  which  burn  in  all  its  temples  an  evidence  that 
the  religion  of  his  fathers  was  yet  there  unchanged.  0, 
Sir,  it  is  the  entrance  of  God's  truth  into  the  mind  that 
gives  light ;  without  this  light  we  may  stand  amid  the 
concentrated  blaze  of  all  the  lamps  and  candles  that 
ever  burned  on  Papal  or  Pagan  altars,  and  yet  be  in 


kirwan's  letters.  57 


Truth  is  the  light  of  the  world. 


Egyptian  darkness.  The  oil  of  all  the  whales  that 
swim,  the  tallow  of  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills, 
the  wax  of  all  the  bees  that  have  ever  buzzed,  if  man- 
ufactured into  candles,  and  blessed  by  the  Pope,  would 
not  shed  as  much  light  upon  the  mind  as  would  this 
one  simple  text,  "He  that  believeth  in  the  Son  hath 
life" — or  this  other  text,  "  Then  spoke  Jesus  unto  them, 
saying,  I  am  the  light  of  the  world  ;  he  that  followeth 
me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  li^ht 
of  life."  0,  why  should  miserable  priests  attempt  the 
fraud  of  supplying  the  light  of  the  truth  which  they 
suppress  by  the  light  of  candles  ? 

I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  Paganism  of  Roman- 
ism.    I  shall  return  to  it  in  my  next. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


58  kirwan's   letters. 

St  Patrick.  No  holy  places. 


LETTER   VII. 

St.  Patrick  never  in  America. — Our  Poverty  in  Holy  Wells  and  Places. 
— The  Holy  Wells  at  Ballahadireen — Ballina — Downpatrick  Head. 
—Their  Origin.— The  Cell  of  St.  Mary  in  Via  Lata.— The  Atrocity 
of  opening  fabulous  Wells,  and  suppressing  the  Fountains  of  Truth. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  Pagan- 
ism of  Romanism  ;  and  I  will  ask  your  attention  in  the 
present  letter  to  some  other  evidences  in  proof  of  their 
great  similarity.  In  the  mean  time,  I  wish  you  not  to 
forget  what  I  have  said  about  the  uses  of  holy  water, 
incense,  and  candles. 

As  good  old  Saint  Patrick,  of  blessed  memory,  never 
visited  these  American  shores  ;  and  as,  in  the  days  of 
monkish  miracles  and  legends,  and  of  holy  houses  flying 
through  the  air,  they  lay  beyond  the  light  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  we  are  very  sadly  deficient  in  holy  wells,  at  which 
the  wondering  saints  drank,  or  in  which  they  washed 
their  feet,  and  in  holy  places,  where  miracles  were 
wrought  when  none  were  needed,  to  gratify  their  whims 
or  their  appetites,  or  to  strike  with  fear  their  enemies. 
And  may  not  this,  Sir,  be  one  of  the  reasons  why  Ro- 
manism flourishes  so  little  here,  and  why  so  many  ed- 
ucated in  that  faith,  in  other  lands,  on  reaching  these 
shores,  lay  it  aside  as  a  compound  of  old  wives'  fables  ? 
Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  effect,  whether  it  be 
our  poverty  in  holy  wells  and  places,  or  our  open  and 
ennobling  institutions,  it  would  really  seem,  especially 


RIRft AN'S     LETTERS.  59 

Holy  wells.  That  at  Ballahadireen 

as  to  our  emigrants  from  Ireland,  that  they  carry  their 
Popery  in  the  pockets  of  their  corduroys  ;  for  as  soon 
as  they  lay  aside  the  one,  they  seem  to  get  rid  of  the 
other.  But  if  we  are  poor  in  holy  wells  and  places, 
they  abound  in  those  lands  where  Romanism  yet  reigns 
and  rules. 

In  some  letters  addressed,  not  long  ago,  to  our  mag- 
nificent friend  of  New  York,  I  had  occasion  to  advert 
to  these  holy  wells.  I  described  one  that  I  had  seen 
in  my  boyhood.  Knowing  how  to  shoot  a  gun  round 
a  corner  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  many  of  the  faith- 
ful, he  sought  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  whole  state- 
ment. He  knew  and  knows  that  they  exist  in  almost 
every  county  of  Ireland  ;  but  he  was  ashamed  to  own 
them,  and  afraid  to  denounce  them,  lest  he  should  break 
their  charm  over  the  vulgar  mind.  Now,  Sir,  as  I  have 
recently  made  a  pilgrimage  to  some  of  these  holy  wells, 
permit  me  to  describe  a  few  of  them  to  you,  and  of  the 
least  celebrated. 

Near  to  a  small  town  called  Ballahadireen,  in  the 
county  Mayo,  is  a  holy  well  of  some  female  saint,  whose 
name  I  forget,  and  whose  festival  is  on  the  10th  of 
August.  On  the  13th  of  last  July  I  was  all  around  it. 
It  stands  in  a  secluded  spot,  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
very  rough  wall  of  stones,  upon  some  of  which  are  cut 
Popish  hieroglyphics  in  the  most  primitive  style  of  the 
art.  I  found  old  rags  between  the  stones  in  place  of 
mortar ;  and  in  lifting  up  some  stones,  I  found  knots 
of  thread  under  them  ;  and  upon  the  branches  of  the 
little  shrubbery  by  which  it  was  surrounded,  there  were 
tied  pieces  of  old  cloth.  These  were  left  behind  as  me- 
mentoes of  their  visits  by  the  poor  devotees,  who  go  there 


60  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Well  at  Ballina.  Holy  trout. 

to  make  their  stations ;  that  is,  to  go  round  it  upon 
their  knees,  praying  to  the  saintess  of  the  well  for  her 
intercessions.  Miss  H.,  the  noble  and  pious  sister  of 
the  proprietor  of  the  place,  told  me  that  she  saw  one 
day  a  woman  at  this  well  pull  the  hair  from  her  head, 
and  tie  it  to  a  bush  on  its  side.  "Why,"  said  she  to 
the  woman,  "  do  you  do  so  ?"  Her  reply  was,  "If  (rod 
will  overlook  me  in  the  judgment,  holy  Saint  Patrick 
will  look  on  this  hair  and  remember  me,  and  will  speak 
to  God  for  me."  If  Irish  Popery  is  true,  heaven  is  no 
place  of  rest  to  good  Saint  Patrick.  '  He  has  his  own 
troubles  there.  The  feast  of  this  saintess  is  kept  on 
the  10th,  and  there  is  a  great  carousal  on  the  11th  of 
August ;  and  within  a  few  years  three  awful  murders 
have  occurred  at  these  carousals.  So  I  was  informed 
on  the  spot. 

Another  of  these  holy  wells  is  near  to  Ballina,  in  Con- 
naught,  and  on  the  "side  of  the  public  highway.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  called  after  Saint  Patrick,  whose 
fame  is  very  great  for  many  wonderful  things  in  "the 
Island  of  Saints."  It  is  surrounded  with  mud,  which 
was  so  deep  on  the  15th  of  July  as  to  prevent  me  from 
reaching  its  brink  ;  and  through  that  mud  all  the  poor 
devotees  wade  in  making  their  stations.  After  making1 
the  required  prayers  around  the  well,  they  cross  the 
road,  and  pass  over  a. stone  wall  into  a  field,  in  which 
is  a  rock.  They  walk  round  this  rock  praying,  drop- 
ping at  each  circuit  a  little  stone  upon  it.  "When  the 
required  circuits  are  all  made,  they  return  to  the  well, 
and  gaze  into  its  shallow  waters  until  they  see  the 
holy  trout,  whose  appearance  is  an  evidence  that  their 
prayers  are  answered!     The  well-known  Dr.  John  Ed- 


's     LETTERS.  61 


KIR  WANS     LETTERS. 


Triests  fishing.  Well  at  Downpatrick. 

ffar,  of  Belfast,  one  of  Ireland's  noblest  sons,  was  with 
me  on  this  pilgrimage.  He  stated  that  he  saw  once  a 
pilgrim  at  this  well  watching  for  "  the  holy  trout," 
that  he  might  have  an  evidence  of  the  acceptance  of 
his  prayers.  Of  a  sudden  he  exclaimed,  with  astonish- 
ing emotion,  "  I  see  the  holy  eel!"  But,  on  examina- 
tion, it  was  found  that  "the  holy  eel"  was  only  a  long, 
rotten  twig,  thrown  by  some  wag  into  the  well.  And 
as  I  passed  from  this  holy  well  through  the  town,  I 
saw  half  a  dozen  of  lazy  and  carnal-looking  priests  fish- 
ing for  salmon  in  the  River  Moy,  which  passes  through 
it.  I  felt  for  the  moment  as  if  I  should  like  to  have 
seen  them  at  least  knee-deep,  if  no  further,  in  the  mud 
which  surrounded  the  well  in  which  the  victim  of  their 
cruel  superstition  saw  "  the  holy  eel." 

I  visited,  also,  the  holy  well,  and  drank  of  its  waters, 
which  springs  up  in  the  moor  as  you  approach  Down- 
patrick  Head.  There  were  the  beaten  paths  of  the  pil- 
grims, along  which  they  perform  their  stations  ;  and 
there  were  the  old  rags  stuffed  in  between  the  stones ; 
and  I  learned  by  our  guides  that  hundreds  flock  to  it 
on  the  day  when  prayers  offered  there  have  a  peculiar 
efficacy.  But  what  need,  Sir,  of  dwelling  longer  on 
these  wells?  If  slippery  John  of  New  York,  whose 
memory  is  often  very  conveniently  treacherous,  knows 
nothing  about  them,  there  are  millions  who  do.  Who 
has  not  heard  or  read  of  the  famous  well  of  Saint  Pat- 
rick, in  the  county  Down  ?  Who  is  ignorant  of  Saint 
John's  well,  at  Kilmainham,  or  of  the  superstitious  rites 
and  licentious  practices  which  are  exhibited  there  on 
the  24th  of  June?  These  sacred  wells,  places,  and 
spots  you  meet  every  where  in  Papal  countries.     In 


62  kirwan's   letters. 


St.  Maria  in  Via  Lata.  Pillar  and  chain. 

Italy  they  abound.  Down  in  a  dark  cellar,  under  the 
church  "  St.  Maria  in  Yia  Lata,"  I  was  shown  the  holy 
well,  by  a  burly  priest,  which  miraculously  sprung 
up  for  the  baptism  of  those  converted  by  St.  Paul.  And 
there  is  scarcely  a  hill,  vale,  river,  spring,  road,  church, 
or  village  that  you  meet,  which  has  not  its  sacred  his- 
tory, and  to  which  somebody  does  not  make  a  pilgrim- 
age in  order  to  obtain  the  remission  of  sin. 

And  whence,  Sir,  all  this  reverence  for  holy  wells 
and  holy  places  ?  Surely  not  from  the  Bible  ;  surely 
not  from  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
Whence,  then,  are  these  superstitious  customs  de- 
rived ?  Most  certainly  and  obviously  from  Paganism. 
m  You,  Sir,  will  not  need  me  to  tell  you  how  frequent 
among  the  heathen  were  sacred  fountains,  and  rivers, 
and  lakes,  and  places.  You  well  know  to  what  an  ex- 
tent, at  this  day,  are  pilgrimages  to  holy  places  and  riv- 
ers made  by  the  Hindoos,  and  the  votaries  of  Bhood- 
ism  over  all  the  East.  This,  also,  in  the  language  of 
Bishop  England,  is  "an  ancient  custom,  of  Eastern  or- 
igin," and  adopted  because  "  our  religion  has  been  re- 
ceived from  the  East." 

As  I  gazed  around  that  cell,  under  the  Church  of 
Saint  Maria  in  Yia  Lata  in  Rome,  in  which  the  mirac- 
ulous well  of  Saint  Paul  is  kept  locked  and  covered 
up,  and  which  is  only  opened  once  a  year  to  quench  the 
thirst  of  the  faithful,  my  eye  lit  upon  a  pillar  extend- 
ing almost  to  the  ceiling  of  the  cell,  around  which  a 
chain  was  entwined.  "What  chain  and  pillar  are 
these  ?"  said  I  to  our  priestly  guide.  "  0,"  said  he, 
"  that  is  the  pillar  to  which  Paul  was  bound,  and  that 
is  the  very  chain  by  which  he  was  bound."     I  smiled 


K  T  R  W  AJ*  's     LETTERS.  63 


Wonderful  sentence.  Other  fountains. 


but  was  silent,  as  I  did  not  care  to  confess  my  unbe- 
lief down  there.     I  did  not  go  to  Rome  desirous  to  ob- 
tain a  martyr's  crown  from  or  by  priestly  hands.     I  ap- 
proached the  pillar,  and  found  this  sentence  deeply  chis- 
eled into  it,  "  Verbum  Dei  non  est  alligatum" — the 
Word  of  God  is  not  bound.     I  was  amazed.     There, 
down  in  that  dark,  damp  cellar,  was  engraved  upon 
stone  the  glorious  truth  that  Grod's  "Word  is  not  bound, 
and  yet,  when  you  go  up  into  the  light,  you  find  the 
Word  of  Grod  not  only  bound,  but  banished  from  Rome. 
"  There  were   other  fountains,"  said  a  friend  to   our 
guide,   "  which  sprung  up  here  ;  what  is  become  of 
them  ?"     "  What  were  they  ?"  said  he.     "  The  fount- 
ains called  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Gralatians,  and  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  and  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  and 
Paul's  Epistle  to  Philemon,  and  probably  Paul's  Epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews,"  was  the  reply.     "  These  were 
great  fountains  which  sprung  up  here  at  the  time  you 
say  this  holy  well  did,  and  where  are  they  ?"     He  re- 
plied, with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  "  I  don't  know." 
And,  although  a  shorn  priest,  I  suppose  he  did  not  know. 
Now,  Sir,  how  can  we  estimate  the  atrocity  of  that 
outrageous  system  of  priestly  policy  which  hides  from 
the  people  the  fountains  of  truth,  and  the  truth  by 
which  we  are  converted  and  sanctified,  and.  then  sends 
them  to  rivers,  fountains,  or  old  muddy  wells,  at  which 
some  fabulous  saints  are  said  to  have  drank,  or  to  have 
washed  their  clothes  or  their  feet,  for  that  cleansing 
which  faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ  alone  can  effect? 
They  shut  up  from  the  people  the  fountains  of  truth, 
the  wells  of  salvation,  and  send  them  in  crowds  to  per- 


64  kirwan's  letters. 

No  priests  at  holy  wells.  Heathen  origin. 

form  stations  around  these  holy  wells,  and  to  pray  to 
the  saints  to  whom  they  are  dedicated.  I  know  not, 
Sir,  how  all  this  may  impress  you,  but  I  confess  that, 
with  me,  it  places  a  Papal  and  Pagan  priest  on  the 
same  level,  save  that  the  Pagan  is  the  most  excusable. 
You  find,  Sir,  no  priests  making  their  stations  around 
these  wells.  They  never  dirty  their  shoes  around  that 
at  Ballina  ;  they  have  never  been  heard  to  repeat  a 
paternoster  around  that  at  Ballahadireen ;  they  are  rare 
as  swallows  in  winter  at  those  holy  places  to  which  they 
encourage  the  vulgar  to  go.  Why  is  this  ?  As  among 
the  ancient  Eg}^ptians,  the  priests  have  a  religion  for 
the  people  and  a  religion  for  themselves. 

The  ancient  heathen  believed,  and  all  the  heathen 
nations  of  the  East  now  believe,  that  some  places  are 
peculiarly  holy,  and  that  a  visit  to  them  is  greatly  mer- 
itorious, tending  to  purify  the  soul,  and  to  gain  the  fa- 
vor of  the  gods  :  Popery  adopts  from  their  mythology 
this  very  principle,  and  in  its  pilgrimages  and  penances 
we  have  an  exact  counterpart  of  those  of  the  heathen 
in  ancient  and  modern  times.  Are  you  not  beginning 
to  see  that  Romanism  is  far  more  Pagan  than  Chris- 
tian ;  that  it  bears  a  nearer  resemblance  to  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Shaster  than  to  those  of  the  Scriptures  ? 

Nor  have  I  yet  exhausted  the  Paganism  of  Roman- 
ism.    More  evidence  to  this  point  in  my  next. 

Yours,  with  great  respect. 


/ 


kirwan's   letters.  65 

Many  points  of  agreement.  Market-place  of  Naples* 


m  LETTER   YIIL 

The  Market-place  at  Naples. — A  ludicrous  Disaster  at  its  Gate. — Ima 
ges  every  where  revered. — Church  of  St.  Augustin. — Scene  witnessed 
there. — The  Image  of  Peter  at  St.  Peter's. — Worshiped  by  Pope  and 
Cardinals. — The  Pantheon  :    Scene  there. —  Rome,  Pagan  in  Fact, 
Christian  only  in  Name. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  ajn  not  yet  through  with  the  Pa- 
ganism of  Romanism.  So  manifold  are  the  points  in 
which  they  touch  and  blend,  and  so  numerous  are  the 
institutions,  rites,  and  ceremonies  transferred  bodily 
from  the  one  to  the  other,  that  to  exhaust  the  subject 
would  require  volumes  ;  but  I  am  not  going  to  write 
volumes.  Yet  that  you,  and  the  poor,  degraded  vic- 
tims of  the  system  may  see,  as  I  see,  that  in  many  of 
its  main  features  it  is  baptized  Paganism,  I  have  a  few 
more  things  to  adduce  in  order  to  strengthen  my  po- 
sition. In  the  mean  time,  let  me  ask  you  not  to  forget 
what  I  have  said  about  holy  water,  incense,  candles, 
and  holy  wells. 

There  is  in  Naples  a  market  held  in  a  square  called 
Marcenello,  and  so  called,  if  our  valet  spoke  the  truth, 
which  is  not  always  to  be  taken  for  granted  in  Italy, 
from  the  name  of  a  rebel  against  the  government,  who 
rose  up  from  among  the  fishermen,  and  who,  in  this 
square,  put  to  death,  in  a  barbarous  manner,  many  of 
the  nobles.  You  enter  this  market-place  by  a  gate- 
way, on  one  side  of  which  I  saw  an  image  of  the  Vir- 


66  kirwan's   letters. 

Ludicrous  scene.  Devotion  to  pictures. 

gin  and  Child  inclosed  in  a  glass  case,  with  candles 
burning  before  it,  and  to  which  the  peasants,  as  they 
passed  out  and  in,  always  bowed  the  knee.  In  this 
gateway  I  witnessed  a  most  ludicrous  scene,  which 
admirably  illustrates  the  piety  of  the  Neapolitans.  On 
approaching  the  gate,  a  donkey,  laden  with  vegetables, 
as  I  had  never  seen  a  donkey  laden  before,  and  driven 
by  a  brawny  and  boisterous  master,  stumbled,  and 
cabbages,  onions,  and  turnips  were  scattered  around. 
The  donkey  recovered,  and  his  enraged  driver  overtook 
him  in  the  gateway,  where  for  some  minutes  I  wit- 
nessed the  farce  of  his  bowing  to*  the  Virgin,  and  whip- 
ping the  donkey,  and  swearing  at  him  at  the  same 
time.  The  obvious  distraction  caused  by  his  reverence 
for  the  Virgin  and  his  rage  at  the  ass  was  most  divert- 
ing. And  these  pictures  and  images  you  see  every 
where  in  purely  Papal  countries,  and  they  are  held  in 
great  reverence  by  the  people.  They  superabound  in 
Naples. 

And  they  are  to  be  found  in  all  Popish  churches. 
As  you  enter  these  churches,  they  strike  a  stranger  as 
one  of  their  great  peculiarities.  You  see  people  kneel- 
ing and  praying  before  them  and  to  them.  Never,  on 
any  occasion,  have  I  seen  a  more  profound  reverence 
manifested  than  I  have  seen  toward  these  pictures  and 
images  in  the  churches  of  Rome,  and  in  the  presence 
of  swarming  priests.  And  to  multitudes  of  these  pic- 
tures miraculous  powers  are  attributed  ;  and  healing 
from  diseases  is  sought  from  their  touch,  and  forgive- 
ness of  sin  from  their  worship.  This  statement  may 
be  denied  in  theory  by  the  priest,  but  it  is  true  to  the 
letter  in  the  practice  of  the  people.     And  that  you, 


kirwan's   letters.  67 

Church  of  St.  Augustin.  A  scene  there. 

Sir,  may  be  convinced  of  this,  permit  me  to  make  a 
statement  of  a  scene  on  which  I  gazed  with  my  own 
eyes,  and  which  may  be  daily  witnes'sed  in  Rome. 

On  the  lovely  Sabbath  morning  of  the  8th  of  last 
J  une,  I  started  in  company  with  others  for  St.  Peter's. 
We  took  in  our  way  the  Church  of  St.  Augustin,  famed 
for  its  fresco  of  Isaiah  by  Raphael.  Near  to  the  right 
entrance  is  the  statue  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  by  San- 
sovino,  which,  for  reasons  that  I  could  not  learn,  is  an 
object  of  special  veneration.  Both  the  Virgin  and  Child 
were  most»gorgeously  robed,  and  were  sparling  with 
brilliants,  the  munificent  donations  of  the  opulent.  The 
church  has  three  naves,  alid  is  supported  by  gigantic 
pillars,  all  of  which  were  covered  from  top  tG  bottom, 
and  on  all  sides,  with  hearts  made  of  different  metals. 
Around  the  statue  was  a  crowd  of  poor  people,  each  in- 
tensely anxious  to  kiss  the  toe  of  the  Virgin,  and  crowd- 
ing their  way  to  gain  their  end.  Mothers  were  there, 
holding  up  their  infant  children  in  their  hands,  and 
pushing  them  over  the  heads  of  othe/s,  that  they  might 
only  touch  the  venerated  image.  ■  The  successful  com- 
petitors for  the  holy  kiss,  sprinkled  themselves  with  wa- 
ter, and,  after  abstracting  a  penny  or  a  paul  from  their 
rags,  and  depositing  it  in  a  money-box  just  by  the  statue, 
they  retired,  with  joy  and  pleasure  beaming  from  their 
countenances.  Priests  in  flocks  were  passing  in  and 
out,  but  they  sought  neither  to  kiss  the  Virgin's  toe,  nor 
to  stay  the  idolatry  of  the  people.  And  what  meant 
those  hearts  which  hung  in  thousands  from  the  pillars 
and  walls  of  the  edifice  ?  They  were  the  votive  offer- 
ings of  those  who  received  benefit  or  cure  from  kissing 
the  toe  of  the  imagg  made  by  Sansovino  !     I  heard, 


68  KIRWAN's     LETTERS. 

Dr.  Duff.  Image  of  St.  Peter 

subsequently,  Dr.  Duff  portraying  with  burning  elo- 
quence the  idolatry  of  India,  but  no  picture  did  he  draw 
so  gross  or  revolting  as  that  which  I  witnessed,  and 
which  you  may  witness  in  the  Church  of  St.  Augustin, 
which  lies  within  the  hearing  of  a  gunshot  to  the  pal- 
ace of  the  Pope  !  This  is  the  church  to  which  the  poor 
in  Rome  do  mostly  resort.  It  lies  in  a  crowded  and 
dirty  part  of  the  city. 

We  passed  on  to  St.  Peter's.  Here  are  pictures  and 
statuary  beyond  number.  I  shall  now  only  ask  your 
attention jfo  the  image  of  St.  Peter.  There*  it  is  in  the 
great  nave,  near  to  the  high  altar,  and  just  in  the  posi- 
tion to  attract  the  eye  of  every  visitor.  It  is  a  sitting 
figure,  ftrmed  of  bronze,  and  resting  on  a  heavy  marble 
pedestal.  His  face  is  such  as  you  might  expect  from 
his  character  as  depicted  in  the  Scriptures,  impulsive 
and  stern ;  his  right  hand  is  lifted  as  if  in  the  act  of 
blessing  ;  and  in  his  left  he  holds  two  ponderous  keys. 
This  statue  is  a  great  affair  in  Rome,  and  has  its  his- 
tory and  its  worshipers.  Some  say  that,  save  the  head 
and  hands,  it  is  the  old  Jupiter  Tonans,  with  the  thun- 
derbolts exchanged  for  the  keys.  I  have  scarcely  a 
doubt  but  that  it  is  so.  And  at  stated  times  the  Pope 
and^  his  cardinals  go  to  it  in  gorgeous  procession,  and 
render  to  it,  as  far  as  the  external  act  is  concerned,  as 
profound  a  worship  as  ever  did  the  old  Romans  under 
the  name  of  Jupiter.  I  saw  myself  priests  bowing  be- 
fore it,  kissing  its  toe,  and  rubbing  it  with  their  fore- 
heads. Indeed,  by  constant  kissing  and  rubbing,  sev- 
eral feet  have  been  worn  down  ;  and,  as  I  can  testify, 
the  present  one  is  dying  of  consumption.  While  meas- 
uring its  dimensions  with  my  e^e,  and  rubbing  with 


kirwan's   letters.  69 

Holy  images.  Mary  at  Lucca.  St.  Dominic. 

my  hand  the  wasting  toes,  and  thinking  of  the  priestly 
wickedness  connected  with  the  whole  affair,  I  was  told 
that  our  friend  of  New  York,  on  his  recent  visit,  pros- 
trated himself  before  it.  If  so,  it  is  another  evidence 
of  his  great  fitness  to  wear  the  fillet  made  by  withered 
nuns  from  the  wool  of  holy  sheep. 

We,  Sir,  away  in  this  land  of  darkness,  and,  if  a  star 
at  all  in  the  ecclesiastical  firmament,  only  a  wander- 
ing  star  that  will  not  obey  the  impulses  of  the  sun,  and 
that  will  not  be  attracted  to  the  great  centre  of  Cath- 
olic unity,  are  as  poor  in  holy  statues  and  paintings  as 
we  are  in  holy  wells  ;  and  very  much  for  the  same  rea- 
son. But  other  countries  are  very  rich  in  them.  Have 
you  not  heard,  Sir,  of  the  holy  image  of  the  Virgin  and 
Child  in  Lucca — how  the  shoulder  of  the  image  bled 
when  struck  by  a  furious  man — and  how  the  blood  is 
preserved  to  this  day,  and  is  exhibited  with  great  cere- 
mony to  the  faithful  ?  Are  you — can  you  be  ignorant 
of  the  image  of  St.  Dominic,  in  Calabria,  which  was 
brought  from  Heaven  by  St.  Catharine  and  Mary  Mag- 
dalene, and  which,  as  cardinals,  bishops,  and  priests 
testify,  has  raised  the  dead,  given  eyes  to  the  blind, 
and  cured  all  diseases  and  infirmities  ?  It  is  yet  visit- 
ed by  swarms  of  pilgrims  yearly.  This  St.  Dominic, 
you  will  remember,  was  the  father  of  that  wonderfully 
human  institution,  the  Inquisition,  which  your  good 
archbishop  so  manfully  vindicates  in  that  erudite  work 
on  theology  which  he  has  so  kindly  dedicated  to  you. 
Have  you  not  heard  of  the  picture  of  Mary,  painted  by 
St.  Luke,  kept  in  a  church  near  Florence,  which  is 
brought  out  in  solemn  procession  in  order  to  avert  any 
calamity  which  may  be  feared  as  impending  over  FJ.or- 


70  kirwan's    letters. 


Shy  of  Protestants.  The  Pantheon. 

ence  or  Tuscany  ?  But,  Sir,  the  time  would  fail  me 
to  tell  you  of  the  numhers  beyond  number  scattered 
over  Southern  and  Northern  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal, 
France,  Germany,  and  Holland  ;  and  which,  even  in 
our  day,  are  regarded  as  possessing  wondrous  and  heal- 
ing efficacy.  Where  there  is  a  mixture  of  Protestants 
among  the  people,  these  things  are  kept  behind  the  cur- 
tain, and  are  but  secretly  encouraged  ;  but  where  the 
people  are  unmixed  Papists,  they  are  openly  patronized, 
and,  in  many  cases,  are  of  more  value  than  mines  of 
gold  to  the  priests.  I  met  these  things  every  where  in 
Italy — in  churches,  by  the  road-side,  in  market-places, 
at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  in  cigar  shops — and,  in 
multitudes  of  cases,  I  have  seen  the  people  offering  to 
them,  at  least  in  appearance,  the  most  profound  wor- 
ship. 

If,  Sir,  you  have  not  seen,  you  have  surely  read  of 
the  Pantheon,  the  most  perfect  and  celebrated  monu- 
ment of  ancient  Rome.  Although  built  before  the 
Christian  era,  there  it  yet  stands,  in  all  its  original 
proportions,  unaffected  by  the  revolutions  of  two  thou- 
sand years.  Although  various  are  the  interpretations 
given  to  its  name,  yet  in  this  temple  all  the  gods  of  the 
heathen  were  worshiped  ;  and,  when  new  countries 
were  conquered,  their  gods,  or  duplicates  of  them,  were 
sent  to  this  temple,  that  the  people  from  those  nations, 
visiting  the  then  metropolis  of  the  world,  might  have 
their  accustomed  images  before  which  to  bow.  And 
for  this  purpose  it  was  most  admirably  arranged. 

This  gem  of  antiquity,  originally  built  by  Agrippa, 
the  son-in-law  of  Augustus,  and  dedicated  by  him  to 
Tupiter  Ultor,  Mars,  Venus,  and,  as  its  name  imports, 


kirwan's    letters.  71 


Heathen  images  remain.  Whence  image*. 


to  all  the  gods,  was  dedicated  by  Pope  Boniface  IV 
to  the  Virgin  Mary  and  all  the  saints.     With  this  sin- 
gle change,  it  remained  as  it  was.    Mary  took  the  place, 
perhaps,  of  Venus,   and  the  saints   of  Jupiter.  Mars, 
and  the  other  heroic  gods  of  the  heathen.     The  old 
images  remained,  but  with  new  names,  and  they  were 
passed  off  upon  the  deluded  populace  as  the  veracious 
images  of  Christian  heroes  !    And  as  the  heathen  found 
there  all  their  gods  before  which  to  bow,  so  now  do 
Papists  find  there  their  favorite  saints  before  which  to 
pray.     Several  times  did  I  stand  beneath  its  beautiful 
dome,  and  witness  the  ceremonies  at  its  several  altars  ; 
and,  as  I  saw  the  few  that  resorted  there  looking  for  a 
few  minutes  around,  and  then  filing  to  the  right  or  left 
as  they  discerned  the  picture  of  their  favorite  saint, 
how  could  I  resist  the  impression  that  it  w^as  yet  in 
substance  and  form  a  heathen  temple,  or  suppress  the 
fear  that  it  was  so  in  fact  ?     I  assure  you,  Sir,  that 
I  regarded  the  dirty  and  clumsy  priests  I  saw7  there 
more  as  the  priests  of  Jupiter  than  of  Jesus,  and  the  per- 
sons I  saw  worship  there  more  as  Pagans  than  Chris- 
tians. 

Now,  Sir,  the  question  again  arises,  and  imperatively 
demands  an  answer,  Whence  these  images — whether 
of  the  chisel  or  the  pencil,  the  carpenter  or  mason — 
which  every  where  crowd  Papal  churches,  and  which 
are  multiplied  to  a  surfeit  in  Papal  countries,  and  which 
have  so  much  to  do  with  the  genuflections,  prostrations, 
prayers,  and  beads  of  ignorant  Papists  ;  and,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  statue  of  St.  Peter,  even  with  those  of  the 
Pope  himself,  and  his  crimsoned  cardinals  ?  Whence 
all  this  ?     Not,  surely,  from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 


72  kirwan's    letters. 

Not  from  the  Scriptures.  Other  heathen  temples. 


Testament,  because  we  are  taught  nothing  by  them 
more  clearly  than  that  Grod,  in  his  anger,  visited  the. 
Jews  with  war,  famine,  pestilence,  and  dispersion,  to 
punish  them  for  the  sin  of  setting  up  images  after 
the  manner  of  the  heathen.  Not,  surely,  in  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  New  Testament,  where  we  are  taught  that 
there  is  but  one  mediator  between  Grod  and  man,  and 
that  we  must  worship  Grod  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Whence,  then,  is  it  ?  Clearly  from  Paganism.  And 
so  undeniable  is  its  paternity,  that  many  Romanists 
not  only  will  not  question  it,  but  will  absolutely  defend 
it  as  a  capital  stroke  of  policy  to  bring  over  the  people 
from  Paganism  to  Popery  without  their  knowing  it ; 
and  what  was  once,  on  this  ground,  a  stroke  of  policy, 
is  now  retained  and  defended  as  essential  to  impress 
the  senses  of  the  vulgar,  with  whom  spiritual  concep- 
tions is  a  work  of  great  difficulty  ! 

And  as  it  is  in  the  Pantheon,  so  it  is  in  the  other  hea- 
then temples  that  yet  remain  in  Rome  ;  they  have  pull- 
ed down  one  idol  and  set  up  another,  or  merely  changed 
its  name.  The  sweet  little  temple  of  Yesta  is  now  pos- 
sessed by  the  Madonna  of  the  Sun  ;  that  of  Fortuna 
Yirilis  by  Mary  the  Egyptian  ;  that  of  Saturn  by  St. 
Adrian ;  that  of  Romulus  and  Remus  by  Cosmas  and 
Damianus  ;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  And 
with  Dr.  Middleton  I  can  truly  say,  that  I  would  rath- 
er give  divine  honors  with  Pagan  Rome  to  the  found- 
ers of  empires,  than  with  Papal  Rome  to  fictitious 
saints,  whose  miracles  and  holiness  have  nothing  to  sus- 
tain them  but  the  miserable  legends  of  the  monks  of 
the  Dark  Ages.  If  I  must  bow  before  pictures  or  im- 
ages at  all,  give  me  Yesta.  and  Saturn,  and  Romulus  ; 


kirwan's    letters.  73 

Pagan  better  than  Papal  gods. 

and  I  will  give  the  Madonna  of  the  Sun,  and  Adrian, 
and  Cosmas  to  the  Pope  and  his  priests. 

Are  you  not  now  beginning  to  see  that  Romanism  is 
far  more  Pagan  than  Christian  ? 

With  great  respect,  yours. 

D 


74 


KIRWAN'S    LETTERS. 


Landing  at  Naples.  Appearance  of  priests. 


LETTER    IX. 

Cumulative  Evidence  of  the  Paganism  of  Romanism. — Landing  at  Na- 
ples.— Appearance  of  the  Ecclesiastics. — Convent  house. — Church  of 
Capuchins  at  Rome. — Preserved  Monk. — Horrid  Burying-place. — 
Nuns  —  how  manufactured. —  Whence  Monks  and  Nuns,  and  for 
what. — Tools  of  the  Priests  and  Corrupters  of  the  People. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  Pa- 
ganism of  Romanism.  The  evidences  of  the  paternity 
of  the  religion  of  the  Seven  Hills  grow  with  investiga- 
tion. Like  the  ruins  of  Pompeii,  they  lie  concealed  be- 
neath a  slight  external  covering,  which  is  easily  re- 
moved. 

On  landing  at  Naples,  I  was  struck  with  the  large 
number  of  ecclesiastics,  in  different  garbs,  that  were  to 
be  seen  in  all  the  streets.  They  all  looked  extremely 
fantastical  and  self-satisfied.  Some  wore  a  three-cocked 
hat,  and  some  no  hat.  Some  wore  shorts,  and  stock- 
ings, and  shoes  with  large  buckles,  and  some  wore 
sandals  without  stockings ;  but,  whether  they  wore 
shorts  or  not,  I  could  not  tell  from  their  flowing  dress. 
Some  wore  an  elegant  priestly  coat  of  black  cloth,  girt 
with  a  sash  around  the  waist,  lifted  up  a  little  on  one 
side  in  order  to  facilitate  their  walking ;  while  others 
wore  a  coarse  garb,  flowing  from  their  shoulders  to  their 
feet,  with  a  cord  around  their  loins.  I  soon  learned 
that  the  fat,  well-fed,  and  well-dressed  persons,  with 
large  shovel  hats,  were  priests  ;  and  that  the  persons 


kirwan's   letters.  75 

Monks.  Their  dress.  Vulgar  appearance. 

without  hats,  wearing  sandals  and  no  stockings,  and  a 
kind  of  a  shoe  with  no  hind  part  to  it,  and  which  flap- 
ped against  the  sole  of  the  foot  as  they  walked,  were 
monks  and  friars  of  various  and  varying  orders.  Of 
these  persons  I  had  often  read,  but  now  they  were  be- 
fore me  a  living  reality.  The  walk,  the  look,  the  whole 
appearance  of  the  priests  seemed  to  testify  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  better  class  of  society  ;  and,  as  I  was  sub- 
sequently informed,  they  were  persons  whose  parents 
had  purchased  for  them  admission  to  the  priesthood  as 
the  cheapest  way  of  securing  to  them  a  competent  sup- 
port for  life.  But  the  monks  and  friars  that  were 
swarming  every  where  bore  the  strongest  evidence  of  a 
mean  origin.  Their  low  foreheads — their  shaven  pates 
—  their  unwashed  faces  and  uncombed  hair — their 
coarse  and  filthy  garments,  and  their  unwashed  feet, 
bore  evidence  against  them.  Of  these  monks  and 
friars  there  are  many  orders  in  Naples.  Some  you  see 
with  bags  on  their  backs,  and  others  with  baskets  in 
their  hands,  begging  from  door  to  door  ;  while  others 
are  confined  to  their  rooms  in  their  houses,  the  volun- 
tary subjects  of  rules  and  customs  the  most  supersti- 
tious and  degrading.  On  the  side  of  the  hill  which 
rises  up  in  the  midst  of  Naples,  and  which  is  surmount- 
ed by  a  strong  fortification,  is  a  monkish  house.  It  is 
a  very  large  establishment,  making  a  hollow  square, 
with  the  grave-yard  in  the  centre  ;  and  each  of  the 
posts  of  the  fence  by  which  the  grave-yard  is  inclosed 
is  surmounted  by  a  naked  skull.  These  monks  never 
speak,  and  never  eat  at  the  same  table,  save  on  the 
Sabbath !  And  these  establishments  you  find  every 
where  in  Italy.     I   visited   one  of  their  churches  in 


76  kirwan's  letters. 

Preserved  monk.  Horrid  burying-place, 

Rome,  where  I  witnessed  the  most  revolting  sight  I 
ever  beheld.  It  is  the  Church  of  the  Capuchins,  where 
is  the  magnificent  painting  of  the  Archangel  by  Gruido. 
In  a  glass  case,  under  one  of  the  side  altars,  is  the  body 
of  a  monk,  laid  out  in  his  old  robes,  in  a  state  of  mi- 
raculous preservation.  Whether  it  was  dried  flesh  or 
wax  I  could  not  tell ;  I  suspected  the  latter.  I  asked 
the  monk  that  attended  on  us  why  the  flesh  of  this 
man  was  preserved,  while  that  of  others  decayed.  His 
reply  was  most  ludicrous.  Putting  his  hands  together, 
and  turning  up  his  eyes,  like  a  duck  in  a  thunder- 
storm, he  answered,  "  Because  he  was  a  good  fellow." 
The  burying-place  of  these  monks  is  a  horrible  sight 
It  seems  to  have  been  gotten  up  to  outrage  all  the  feel- 
ings of  humanity.  It  is  partly  under  the  church,  and 
is  entered  from  the  yard  by  a  series  of  arches.  The 
burial  spot  may  be  twenty  or  thirty  feet  by  seven  or 
eight.  -The  clay  of  this  bed,  I  was  told,  was  brought 
from  Palestine.  In  this  bed  the  monks  are  buried, 
where  they  lie  until  the  flesh  falls  from  their  bones. 
Then  the  bones  are  taken  up,  and  some  of  them,  after 
being  jointed  with  wires  into  a  perfect  skeleton,  are 
dressed  up  in  their  old  garbs,  and  hung  up  around  the 
place,  while  the  skulls,  the  bones,  and  the  ribs  of 
others  are  wrought  into  fantastical  arches  and  candle- 
sticks, which  every  where  cover  the  walls  and  meet  the 
eye.  Even  Rome  does  not  present  a  more  revolting 
spectacle.  And  shreds  from  an  old  dirty  garment  of  that 
preserved  monk,  whose  name  was  Crispini,  are  said  to 
have  wrought  miracles,  and  have  been  sold*  at  exor- 
bitant prices.  And  in  this  revolting  den  of  superstition 
and  indolence  are  one  hundred  and  fifteen  of  these  dirty 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  •  77 

A  begging  monk.  An  incident.  Nuns. 

Capuchins,  who,  judging  from  their  appearance,  stand 
far  more  in  need  of  a  thorough  washing  than  they  do 
of  victuals  or  wine  ! 

These  monks,  who  spend  their  time  between  pray- 
ing, begging,  sleeping,  and  sinning,  you  meet  every 
where.  One  of  them  was  regularly  stationed  in  the 
hall  of  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre  every  morning  to  beg 
alms  from  the  strangers  retiring  from  the  breakfast- 
room.  My  traveling  friend,  who  liked  them  about  as 
much  as  I  did,  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  one  morning, 
as  if  hunting  for  a  franc  for  the  shorn  monk.  Finger- 
ing his  pocket,  he  went  up  stairs,  and  the  monk  after 
him,  his  eyes  beaming  with  hope.  At  the  top  of  the  first 
stairs,  he  signified  that  he  could  not  find  any  thins:  to 
give  him.  He  stopped  a  little,  but  cast  a  longing,  beg- 
srino;  look  after  him.  Asmin  my  friend  commenced  to 
finger  his  pockets,  and,  again  flushed  with  hope,  the 
monk  renewed  his  pursuit.  But,  while  ascending  the 
next  flight,  the  incorrigible  Protestant  came  down  upon 
the  lazy  rogue  with  a  thundering  rebuke,  under  which 
he  went  down  stairs  at  least  as  fast  as  he  ascended 
them. 

And  you,  Sir,  must  well  know  how  large  a  space  in 
the  history  of  Romanism  is  filled  by  the  rise  and  the 
progress,  the  conflicts  and  the  crimes,  of  the  various 
classes  and  orders  of  monks  and  friars. 

It  has  also  called  into  requisition  female  monks, 
called  nuns,  who  have  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
extending  of  its  plans.  The  first  of  these  persons  I 
saw  abroad  was  on  a  funeral  occasion,  in  the  Made- 
leine, in  Paris.  The  deceased  was  obviously  very  poor, 
and  the  priest  in  waiting  mumbled  a  service  over  the 


78  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Their  appearance.  Whence,  and  how  made. 

coffin,  so  hurried  and  so  heartless  as  to  fill  me  with 
contempt  for  him.  The  nun,  who,  perhaps,  was  the 
nurse  of  the  deceased,  was  there,  and  a  more  common 
or  ugly  woman  no  man  might  wish  to  see.  There 
were  three  of  them  on  the  steamer  from  Lyons  to  Avig- 
non, and,  in  appearance  and  manners,  they  were  the 
very  ditto  of  her  I  saw  in  Paris.  The  great  vulgarity 
of  their  appearance  in  Italy  put  to  flight  all  the  images 
of  beauty,  and  delicacy,  and  modesty  which  I  had  ever 
associated  with  them  ;  nor  could  I  account  for  what  I 
observed  until  my  visit  to  the  Catacombs  at  Naples. 
As  you  approach  these  subterranean  graves,  there  are 
two  large  buildings  on  either  hand  ;  that  on  the  left  is 
devoted  to  the  care  of  poor  old  men,  and  that  on  the 
right  to  poor  young  girls,  who  are  deserted  by  their 
parents,  or  "  who  had  no  parents,"  as  said  our  valet. 
This  building  is  capable  of  containing  between  one 
and  two  thousand  girls,  and  is  usually  full ;  and  all 
of  these  are  compelled  to  be  nuns.  The  fact  that  they 
are  taken  from  the  very  lowest  walks  of  life  accounts 
for  the  commonness  of  their  appearance  ;  and  it  is  the 
same  fact  which  accounts  for  the  yet  more  common, 
and  dirty,  and  sensual  appearance  of  most  of  the  monks 
and  friars  that  I  saw  abroad.  Here  and  there  a  dis- 
appointed maiden  may  flee  to  a  nunnery  to  hide  her 
blushes  or  her  shame,  and  become  a  lady  abbess  ;  or 
a  greatiy  criminal  noble  may  flee  to  a  monastery  to 
hide  his  crimes,  and  to  play  the  gentleman  fanatic 
among  boors ;  but,  as  a  rule,  monks,  friars,  and  nuns  are 
from  the  very  sweepings  of  society,  and  ever  have  been. 
Italian  nuns,  as  far  as  they  came  under  my  observa- 
tion, needed  not  the  walls  of  a  nunnery  to  protect  them 


kirwan's   letters.  79 

Celibacy  not  enjoined.  Confraternities. 

from  marriage,  for  I  have  seen  many  females  far  pret- 
tier enjoy  the  benefits  of  single  blessedness  without 
any  to  disturb  or  to  make  them  afraid.  And  such  are 
the  monks  and  friars  that  are  shipped  here  in  cargoes 
to  civilize  and  to  Christianize  us  ! 

But  the  question  again  arises,  Whence  these  orders 
of  monks  and  friars  ?  Whence  these  nuns  of  various 
names,  and  various  colored  vails  ?  There  is  nothing 
like  them  in  the  Old  Testament — nothing  certainly  in 
the  New.  Celibacy  is  nowhere  enjoined  on  man  or 
woman,  saint  or  sinner,  in  the  Bible.  Seclusion  from 
the  world,  like  that  practiced  in  monasteries,  is  no- 
where enjoined  by  the  sacred  books  of  our  religion. 
When  Paul  speaks  of  persons  wandering  in  deserts  and 
in  mountains,  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  he  refers 
to  those  banished  from  their  homes  and  friends  by  the 
ferocity  of  persecutors.  Whence,  then,  these  orders  ? 
They  are  all  of  Pagan  origin.  You,  Sir,  need  not  be 
told  how  orders  of  priests  abounded  among  the  Egyp- 
tians and  the  Greeks,  nor  how  they  were  copied  by  the 
Romans.  The  merest  novice  in  mythology  will  re- 
member the  Pagan  confraternities,  to  which  Francis- 
cans, Benedictines,  Dominicans,  and  Jesuits  so  nearly 
correspond,  and  the  Vestal  Virgins,  to  which  Popish 
nuns  are  so  exact  a  counterpart.  How  exactly  Homer 
and  Plato  painted  the  monks  of  La  Trappe  in  their  de- 
scriptions of  the  priests  of  Dodonean  Jove !  Anchorites, 
hermits,  recluses,  and  monks  existed  in  Asia  Ions:  be- 
fore  the  Christian  era  ;  and,  at  the  present  time,  the 
countries  which  profess  the  religion  of  Brama,  Fo, 
Lama,  and  Mohammed,  are  full  of  fakirs,  and  santons, 
toners,  talapoins,  bonzes,  and  der  rises,  whose  fanatical 


80  kirwan's   letters. 

Monks  among  Pagans.  Their  uses. 

and  absurd  penances  are  the  arts  of  deception,  and  not 
the  fruits  of  piety.  And  in  some  of  the  countries  of 
Asia  at  this  hour  you  will  find  priests  and  monks  un- 
der the  vows  of  celibacy  without  keeping  them,  with 
shorn  heads,  with  and  without  turbans,  and  wearing 
peculiar  robes  tied  about  their  loins,  as  thick  as  under 
the  shadow  of  St.  Elmo,  or  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Ti- 
ber. 

But  why  these  monks,  and  friars,  and  nuns  ?  Has 
the  question  ever  occurred  to  you  ?  The  bishops  are 
generally  engaged  in  the  higher  affairs  of  the  state  or 
the  Church ;  the  priests  are  saying  masses  in  deserted 
churches,  and  faring  sumptuously ;  and  the  monks, 
and  friars,  and  nuns,  collected  from  the  common  peo- 
ple, and  sympathizing  with  them,  are  abroad  among 
them,  as  the  curates  or  assistants  of  the  priests  and 
bishops,  for  the  purpose  of  filling  their  minds  with  fa- 
bles, and  keeping  them  in  bondage.  They  are  priest- 
ly spies  among  the  people,  save  those  that  go  into  se 
elusion  ;  and  hence  you  find  them  begging  for  the  peo- 
ple, sitting  with  the  people  in  the  streets,  mingling 
with  them  in  the»market-places,  lounging  with  the  laz- 
aroni,  and  laughing  with  them,  and  all  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  the  dirty  work  of  the  priests,  and  filling  their 
minds  with  superstitious  legends.  The  object  of  im- 
porting to  our  shores  monks  and  nuns  can  not  be  mis- 
taken ;  and  as  soon  as  "public  sentiment  will  allow  it, 
you  will  see  these  lazy  and  wicked  wretches  sticking 
their  shorn  heads  into  the  cottages  of  the  poor,  to  warn 
them  against  all  the  elevating  influences  of  Christian- 
ity, iind  flouting  their  coarse  robes  in  our  thorough- 
fares for  the  same  purpose  for  which  the  Pharisees  oi 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  81 


The  curse  of  Papal  nations.  Deliverance  prayed. 

old  made  broad  their  phylacteries.  These  monkish  or- 
ders were,  and  are,  the  curse  of  Pagan  nations  ;  they 
wofully  corrupted  the  Christian  Church ;  they  were 
mainly  the  authors  of  the  lying  legends  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  which  Papal  priests  are  endorsing  even  in  Amer- 
ica ;  they  are  now  a  grievous  curse  to  the  Papal  na- 
tions of  the  world.  0,  Sir,  will  you  not  join  me  in  the 
prayer  that  they  may  never  curse,  either  by  their  pres- 
ence or  their  arts,  our  own  happy,  thrice  happy  coun- 
try ? 

With  great  respect,  yours. 
D2 


82  kirwan's  letters. 


Letter  from  Rome.  Domitian. 


LETTER  X. 

Letter  from  Rome  dated  A.D.  90.— The  Paganism  of  Rome  then,  the 
exact  Picture  of  Papal  Rome  now 

My  dear  Sir, — That  you  and  all  men  may  see  at  a 
glance  the  entire  truth  of  the  Paganism  of  Romanism, 
which  I  have  already  so  fully  proved  and  illustrated, 
will  you  permit  me  to  go  back  to  the  year  90  of  the 
Christian  era,  and,  like  my  friend  "  Nicholas,  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Westminster,"  to  address  you  a  letter 
"out  of  the  Flaminian  G-ate,"  describing  the  religion 
of  Rome,  both  as  to  its  priests  and  ceremonies,  as  then 
existing  ? 

Rome,  A.D.  90. 

Sir, — I  have  just  reached  this  great  city  after  a  tedi- 
ous voyage.  I  have  spent  several  days  in  visiting  the 
many  temples  here  erected  to  the  worship  of  the  gods, 
and  in  inquiries  as  to  the  civil  and  social  state  of  the 
people  ;  and  I  now  proceed  to  detail  to  you  what  I  have 
seen  and  learned. 

Domitian  has  just  brought  to  a  close  the  Dacian  war, 
having  secured  a  peace  on  very  humiliating  terms. 
This,  instead  of  humbling  him,  has  greatly  excited  his 
turbulent  passions,  so  that  no  man  is  now  safe  here, 
unless  he  would  degrade  himself  to  flatter  the  tyrant 
and  his  tools.  The  philosophers  are  expelled,  Chris- 
tians are  greatly  persecuted,  and  are  prohibited  from 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  83 


Awful  tyranny.  Immorality.  Pagan  priests. 

meeting  for  worship  under  the  severest  penalties  ;  and 
a  widespread  fear  of  the  emperor  is  among  all  the 
people.  Rumors  of  conspiracies  against  his  life  are 
very  frequent,  and  those  who  are  suspected  as  enemies 
are  cruelly  torn  from  their  families  ;  but  what  is  done 
with  them  none  even  conjecture.  The  unseen  hand 
of  tyranny  is  every  where  felt,  and  every  person  is  in 
hourly  dread  of  its  chains  or  its  daggers. 

But  very  few  Christians  are  to  be  found  here.  They 
are  compelled  to  worship  in  secret,  where  the  eye  of 
tyranny  can  not  see  them.  The  most  frightful  immo- 
ralities prevail  among  the  people,  although  ike  altars 
and  images  of  the  gods  are  every  where  to  be  seen,  and 
although  their  temples  are  multiplied  and  gorgeous, 
and  their  worship  is  maintained  with  many  and  impo- 
sing ceremonies.  And  what  seems  to  me  surpassing 
strange  is,  that  the  more  immoral  the  people,  the  more 
they  are  attached  to  their  religious  rites. 

There  is  here  a  wonderful  array  of  Pagan  priests, 
filling  the  temples,  and  to  be  met  with  in  all  the  streets. 
These  are  frequently  to  be  seen  leading  in  processions 
in  honor  of  the  gods,  which  processions  are  calculated 
to  please  the  people  and  render  them  superstitious. 
One  of  these  I  have  just  witnessed.  The  magistrates 
in  their  robes  were  there  ;  the  priests  in  their  surplices 
were  there  ;  with  wax  candles  in  their  hands,  and  car- 
rying the  images  of  the  gods,  finely  dressed.  These 
were  followed  by  young  men  in  white  vestments,  sing- 
ino-  in  honor  of  the  srod  whose  festival  was  celebrated  ; 
and  these,  again,  were  followed  by  crowds  of  all  kinds 
of  people,  with  candles  and  flambeaux  in  their  hands. 
The  whole  scene  was  very  gorgeous,  but  very  idola- 


84  KIR  WAN's    LETTERS. 

Pontifex  Maximus.  His  honors  and  powers. 

trous.  The  common  people  are  said  to  be  fond  of  these 
things,  and  they  are  multiplied  by  the  priests  on  that 
account. 

The  priests  here  are  very  numerous,  and  wield  a  vast 
power.  I  will,  therefore,  give  you  some  account  of 
them.  The  chief  and  head  of  them  all  is  called  Pon- 
tifex Maximus,  or  sovereign  pontiff.  This  man  is  the 
visible  head  of  their  religion,  and  is  the  chief  of  a  body 
of  priests,  which,  in  their  collective  capacity,  is  called 
collegium  or  college.  This  college  is  the  final  judge 
in  all  cases  relating  to  religious  things  ;  and  where 
there  is  no  written  law,  they  prescribe  what  they  think 
proper.  This  college  is  a  body  of  vast  influence,  and 
always  sits  in  secret.  When  the  pontiff  dies,  it  elects 
a  new  one,  and  usually  from  their  own  number.  The 
Pontifex  is  almost  worshiped  as  a  god  ;  indeed,  he  is 
sometimes  called  god,  although  he  only  claims  to  be 
the  vicegerent  of  Jupiter.  He  claims  to  exercise  among 
men  the  authority  of  Jupiter — he  lives  in  royal  state — 
he  levies  taxes  upon  the  inferior  priests  and  upon  the 
people,  and  he  claims  a  respect  from  the  people,  which, 
to  me,  is  just  like  adoration  or  worship.  Men  bow  be- 
fore-him  as  he  passes,  and  none  can  approach  him  with- 
out kissing  his  feet.  He  is  the  infallible  interpreter  to 
whom  the  people  resort ;  and  while  he  punishes  others 
at  discretion,  he  is  not  himself  amenable  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  senate  or  the  people.  All  priests,  and  al- 
most all  things,  are  subject  to  him.  He  regulates  the 
year  and  the  public  calendar.  He  usually  wears  a  gor- 
geous robe  bordered  with  purple,  and  a  cap  in  the  form 
of  a  cone,  and  holds  a  rod  in  his  hand  wrapped  round 
with  wool.     But  you  should  come  to  Rome  yourself  to 


kirwan's   letters.  85 


Other  priest^ Temples. 

understand  the  power  of  this  man,  and  the  splendor 
with  which  he  appears  in  public,  and  in  which  he  lives 

in  private. 

In  the  train  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus  there  is  always 
a  numerous  priesthood,  divided  into  several  classes. 
Some  of  these  are  called  Augurs,  some  Quindecemviri, 
some  Septemviri ;  these  are  the  chief.  *But,  besides 
these,  there  are  fraternities  of  priests  less  considerable, 
though  quite  influential.  These,  in  the  language  of  this 
country,  are  called  Fratres  Ambervales,  Curiones,  Fe- 
ciales,  Sodales.  Besides  these,  there  are  priests  of  par- 
ticular gods,  as  the  priests  of  Jupiter,  of  Mars,  of  Pan, 
of  Hercules,  and  of  Cybele,  the  mother  of  the  gods. 
There  are  also  here  women  they  call  Yirgines  Yestales, 
or  Vestal  Virgins,  who  are  consecrated  to  the  worship 
of  Vesta,  and  who  enjoy  singular  honor  and  privileges. 
These  all  wear  peculiar  garments,  by  which  they  are 
distinguished  from  one  another  and  from  all  the  people. 
Their  dress  tells  who  and  wliat  they  are,  wherever  you 
meet  them,  and  you  meet  them  every  where.  And  all 
these  priests  have  servants,  who  wait  upon  them  when 
they  are  performing  rites  at  the  altars  of  the  gods. 

The  houses  erected  to  the  gods  are  many  and  beauti- 
ful. These  are  called  Templae,  or  temples.  I  have  just 
returned  from  the  Pantheon,  where  I  witnessed  a  cere- 
mony which  I  will  describe  to  you.  As  the  morning 
here  is  regarded  as  the  most  propitious  part  of  the  day, 
their  great  ceremonies  are  all  ended  before  noon.  The 
priest  entered  by  a  door,  dressed  in  a  white  robe  called 
alba,  and  ascended  by  a  few  steps  to  the  altar.  He 
wore,  also,  a  tunic  of  various  colors.  His  head  was 
shaven,  which  struck  me  as.  singular,  and  he  had  upon 


86  kirwan's  letters. 


Service  in  the  Pantheon.  Many  gods. 

his  breast  a  richly-decorated  covering  called  a  pectoral. 
He  wore,  also,  a  vail.  The  whole  dress  struck  me  as 
very  fanciful,  nor  could  you  conjecture,  save  from  his 
head  and  face,  whether  he  was  a  man  or  a  woman. 
When  he  had  washed  his  hands,  he  marched  round  the 
altar,  and,  having  made  obeisance  before  it,  he  stood 
fronting  the#people.  Lighted  tapers  covered  the  altar. 
The  servants  and  inferior  priests  burned  incense,  while 
the  priest  made  many  prostrations.  He  always  spoke 
in  Latin,  which  I  do  not  sufficiently  know  fully  to  com- 
prehend him.  When  the  ceremony  was  ended,  the  god 
in  whose  honor  it  was  performed  was  carefully  locked 
in  a  little  box  upon  the  altar,  and  then  the  priest  dis- 
missed the  people  with  these  words  :  "  Missio  est." 
And  after  being  sprinkled  by  the  inferiors  with  water 
mingled  with  salt,  which  is  called  "  lustralis  aqua,"  or 
holy  water,  they  left  the  temple,  smiling  and  talking, 
and  apparently  gratified.  And,  with  little  variation, 
this  is  a  picture  of  what*  I  have  witnessed  in  all  the 
temples  I  have  yet  visited.  The  sacrifices,  as  I  had 
supposed,  did  not  always  consist  of  slain  animals ; 
sometimes  nothing  is  offered  but  a  little  round  wafer, 
which  is  called  mola,  and  the  offering  of  which,  as  they 
declare,  removes  the  sins  of  the  people.  This  was  in- 
stituted by  Numa,  and  is  called  "  the  unbloody  sacri- 
fice:1 

■  Nothing  here  more  sorrowfully  impresses  a  true  mind 
than  their  great  multiplication  of  gods.  They  have 
twelve  superior  gods,  with  whose  names  you  are  famil- 
iar ;  and  they  have  gods  inferior,  which  they  multiply 
without  end.  These  latter  are  persons  selected  for  di- 
vine honors  from  the  ranks  of  men,  and  who,  for  their 


KIR  WAN 


'S     LETTERS.  87 


Apotheosis. A  middle  state. 

virtues  or  merits,  are  placed  among  the  gods.     When 
the  Collegium,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  has  re- 
solved to  deify  any  person,  they  proclaim  his  apotheo- 
sis, which  proclamation  places  him  among  the  gods. 
Immediately  the  ignorant  people  begin  to  pray  to  him, 
and  to  invoke  his  aid.     First  they  make  a  god  of  him, 
and  then  they  make  him  pay  for  the  honor  conferred ! 
From  these  small  gods  it  is  customary  for  classes  and 
professions  to  select  a  patron.     Musicians  have  select- 
ed Apollo  ;  sailors,  Neptune  ;  farmers,  Ceres  ;  soldiers, 
Mars  ;  cities,  towns,  and  persons  select  their  guardian 
gods.      Rome  has   selected  Jupiter   Capitolinus,  and 
Athens  Minerva ;  and  families  have  their  gods  in  their 
houses,  and  individuals  carry  their  patrons  in  their  pock- 
ets.    And  to  these  gods  they  give  the  honor  and  pray- 
er which  are  due  only  to  the  only  true  God.     I  saw  a 
poor  sailor,  the  other  day,  who  had  escaped  drowning 
at  Ostia,  hang  up  his  coat  as  a  votive  offering  in  the 
temple   of  Neptune,  and  prostrate  himself  before  his 
image  as  if  it  were  our  God  ! 

I  find  also  here  a  belief  of  a  state  somewhere  be- 
tween hell  and  the  Elysian  fields,  where  the  souls  of  the 
departed  go  which  were  not  bad  enough  for  hell  nor 
good  enough  for  heaven.  I  know  not  whether  they 
borrowed  this  doctrine  from  Virgil,  who  is  here  in  great 
repute,  and  who  teaches  it ;  or  whether  it  was  older  than 
Virgil.  Probably  he  only  embodied  what  was  a  popu- 
lar superstition  in  his  fine  poem.  But  the  use  which 
the  priests  make  of  it  has  strongly  impressed  me  with 
their  want  of  honesty.  They  pretend  to  the  power  of 
abridging  the  awful  sufferings  of  souls  in  this  inter- 
mediate place  by  prayers  and  sacrifices,  and  for  which 


88  kirwan's   letters. 

4  wicked  city.  Wicked  priests. 

tliey  charge  very  high  prices  when  the  people  are  able 
to  pay.  In  this  way  the  Pagan  priests  here  draw 
enormous  revenues  from  the  living  for  the  saving  of  the 
souls  of  the  dead.  They  speculate  on  the  sorrows  of 
the  living ;  and  from  hearts  broken  by  afflictions  and 
trials  they  draw  some  of  their  chief  revenues. 

But  I  may  weary  you  with  these  details  which  I 
make,  and  which  you  must  read  with  sorrow.  This 
is  a  wicked  city,  and  its  priests  are  the  most  wicked 
of  its  people.  It  is  a  most  superstitious  city.  But  the 
power  of  these  Pagan  priests  is  gradually  giving  way, 
and  the  influence  of  superstition  over  the  people  is  be- 
coming less  and  less.  The  true  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  here  as  a  leaven — may  it  leaven  the  mass.  It  is  the 
only  remedy  for  the  sins  and  follies  of  this  great  but 
wicked  people. 

Very  truly  your  friend. 

Now,  Sir,  if  you  will  turn  to  the  history  of  Rome  at 
the  date  of  this  letter ;  if  you  will  turn  to  any  writer 
on  Roman  Antiquities  ;  if  you  will  read  Adams  on  the 
Religion  of  the  Romans,  commencing  with  page  234 
of  the  New  York  edition  of  1826,  the  one  now  before 
me,  you  will  find  that  I  have  given  you  an  exact  ac- 
count, as  far  as  such  an  account  can  be  drawn  from  his- 
tory, of  the  priests  and  ceremanies  of  Paganism,  as  far 
as  I  have  gone,  and  at  the  time  selected.  Were  it 
necessary  to  go  further  into  the  conduct  of  the  priests, 
and  the  manner  and  character  of  their  ceremonies,  I 
could  have  brought  out  other  things  that  would  equal- 
ly astonish  you.  And  now,  JSir,  I  would  seriously  ask 
you  what  is  the  difference  between  Pagan  Rome  in  the 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  89 


Home  in  the  year  90 — Rome  in  1852. 


year  90  of  the  Christian  era,  and  Papal  Rome  in  the 
year  1852  ?     I  assure  you,  Sir,  I  can  see  but  little. 
The  Pontifex  Maximus  you  have  in  the  Pope  ;  the  Col- 
legium in  the  sacred  college  of  cardinals  ;  the  priests 
of  various  classes  you  have  in  the  varying  classes  of 
the  monks  and  nuns  ;   the  multiplication  of  demigods 
you  have  in  the  canonization  of  the  saints  ;  the  cere- 
monies described  in  the  Pantheon  you  have  there  at 
this  very  hour,  almost  unchanged ;   the  wafer  called 
the  "  mola"  you  have  in  the  "  unbloody  sacrifice  of  the 
mass  ;"  the  intermediate  state  between  Hell  and  Elys- 
ium, as  sung  by  Virgil,  you  have  in  Purgatory  ;   and 
the  cruelty  of  Domitian  and  his  tools,  and  their  perse- 
cution of  the  Christians,  you  have  in  the  infamous,  de- 
testable conduct  of  Pius  IX.  and  his  cardinals  ;  and  so 
on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.     Popery,  therefore,  is  lit- 
tle else  than  Paganism  extended.     All  unbiased  minds 
on  earth,  capable  of  forming  an  opinion  on  the  subject, 
must  admit  this,  especially  if  they  visit  Rome,  and 
examine  the  subject,  as  I  have  done,  in  what  were 
once  Pagan,  and  now  are  Papal  temples. 

.  And  here,  Sir,  you  have  one  of  my  chief  reasons  for 
addressing  these  letters  to  you.  A  man  high  in  char- 
acter, station,  intelligence,  and  influence,  you  are 
claimed  as  a  Romanist  by  Papal  priests.  Whatever 
may  be  your  private  views,  you  would  prefer  the  name 
of  Christian  to  Pagan  ;  while  a  thorough  Papist,  can 
you  be  less  than  Pagan  ?  And,  as  the  able  and  tried 
friend  of  your  country  and  its  institutions,  would  you 
not  prefer  that  it  and  they  should  be  under  the  mold- 
ins:  influence  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  rather  than 
under  that  of  the  old  Pontifex  Maximus  of  the  Seven 


90  kirwan's   letters. 

The  Bible  to  be  prefeiTed  to  Sybilline  leaves. 

- 

Hills  ?     Is  not  the  Bible  a  better  book  for  our  people 
than  trie  traditions  of  the  Sybils,  doubtfully  or  dogmat- 
ically interpreted  from  Papal  altars  ?     Are  not  minis- 
ters of  Christ  better  teachers  of  the  people  than  the 
commissioned  spies  of  the  holy  college  of  cardinals — 
than  the  lineal  successors  of  the  augurs,  the  curiones, 
the  sodales,  the  Yirgines  Vestales  of  the  days  of  Domi- 
tian  ?     Are  you  doing  your  duty  to  your  noble  coun- 
try, the  hope  of  the  aspirants  of  true  liberty  in  all  the 
earth,  by  giving  even  the  approbation  of  your  silence 
to  the  efforts  of  priests  from  Ireland,  Austria,  and  Italy, 
to  transplant  to  our  shores  nominally  Popish,  but  really 
Pagan  institutions,  whose  very  best  influences  have 
been  always  adverse  to  the  highest  interests  of  human- 
ity ?     Honor  yourself  and  your  posterity,  and  bless 
your  country,  by  a  wise  and  powerful  effort,  such  as 
you  can  put  forth,  to  prevent  Papal  priests  from  Pa- 
ganizing our  country. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


kirwan's   letters.  91 


Catacombs  at  Naples.  Altar.  St.  Januarius. 


LETTER   XL 

Sham  Miracles. — Altar  in  the  Catacombs. — St.  Januarius,— the  Lique- 
faction of  his  Blood. — A  terrible  Incident  for  the  Priests. — Ara  Coeli. — 
Bambino. — A  Scene. — History  of  Bambino. — Its  wonderful  Powers. 

My  dear  Sir, — Having,  as  I  trust,  satisfied  you,  and 
all  my  readers,  that  Popery,  in  its  forms,  ceremonies, 
and  external  arrangements,  is  nothing  but  the  Pagan- 
ism of  the  old  Roman  state,  which  Christianity  found 
there  on  its  first  introduction  into  our  world,  permit  me 
to  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  some  other  topics. 

On  entering  the  Catacombs  at  Naples,  the  first  thing 
that  strikes  you,  so  as  to  attract  attention,  is  a  rude 
Papal  alta*,  covered  with  all  the  insignia  of  Romanism. 
You  ask,  Why  is  it  there  buried  under  a  high  mount- 
ain, and  shut  out  from  all  save  those  visiting  this  won- 
derful receptacle  of  the  dead  of  the  heroic  ages  of  Italy  ? 
The  reply  is,  that  "  it  marks  the  spot  where  the  bones 
of  the  far-famed  St.  Januarius  were  found."  "  How 
long  did  they  remain  here,"  said  I  to  our  guide,  "be- 
fore discovered?"  "About  three  hundred  years,"  he 
replied.  "  But  how  tell,  at  that  distance  of  time,  whose 
bones  they  were?"  "By  miracle,"  he  replied.  Of 
course,  I  could  say  no  more.  In  the  cathedral  church 
of  the  city,  dedicated  to  this  saint,  is  a  beautiful  chapel, 
where  are  two  vials  of  his  blood  ;  I  was  shown  the 
case  in  which  they  were  locked  up  ;  but  my  eyes  were 
unworthy  of  seeing  them.    "  How,"  said  I  to  the  guide, 


92  kirwan's   letters. 


Liquefaction.  De^head. 


Alhan  Butler. 


"could  they  get  this  blood,  when  it  was  not  known 
where  his  body  was  for  three  hundred  years  ?"  "  By 
miracle,"  was  again  the  reply.  "  When,  and  how  is 
it,"  I  asked,  "  that  this  blood  liquefies  ?"  "  In  Septem- 
ber, May,  and  December,"  he  replied,  "and  at  other 
times  when  the  bishops  pray.  And  the  blood  melts 
when  the  saint's  head  looks  at  it."  "  But  the  head  is 
dead — how  can  it  look  ?"  "  By  miracle,"  was  the  re- 
ply. "But  how  does  the  look  of  the  head  melt  the 
blood  ?"  "  By  miracle,"  was  the  answer.  And,  egre- 
giously  absurd  as  the  whole  thing  is,  it  is  by  these  sham 
miracles  that  Romish  priests,  in  all  lands  where  belief 
in  them  is  the  vulgar  faith,  seek  to  retain  their  ascend- 
ency over  a  deluded  people.  And  in  all  this  they  prove 
themselves  to  be  the  worthy  and  true  successors  of  the 
Pagan  priests,  who  sought  by  prodigies  and  omens  to 
excite  and  strengthen  the  vulgar  belief.  Let  me  place 
some  of  these  miracles  before  you. 

There,  in  two  old  vials,  is  the  fabled  blood  of  St. 
Janvmrius.  On  the  set  time,  these  vials  are  brought 
out  by  a  priest ;  and  the  head,  which  was  cut  off  about 
the  year  306,  and  which  must  have  been  often  renewed 
in  nearly  sixteen  hundred  years,  is  brought  out  and 
placed  near  them.  The  blood  melts  at  the  sight  of  the 
head.  The  Rev.  Alban  Butler,  a  most  erudite  scholar 
in  lying  wonders,  tells  us,  "that  when  the  blood  is 
brought  within  sight  of  the  head,  though  at  a  consid- 
erable distance,  it  melts,  bubbles  up,  and,  upon  the  least 
motion,  flows  on  all  sides."  Then  a  boy  holds  up  a 
lamp  behind  the  vial  to  make  the  liquefaction  visible. 
Then  the  faithful,  usually  composed  of  beggars,  press 
toward  the  altar,  when  a  priest  touches  their  forehead 


kirwan's   letters.  93 


The  farce.  Vesuvius  put  out.  A  good  story 

and  lips  with  the  wonderful  vials.  When  persons  in 
a  clerical  dress  approach,  which  is  rarely  the  case,  it  is 
touched  to  their  forehead,  lips,  and  bosom  ;  and  surely, 
like  the  soothsayers  of  old,  they  must  laugh  when  they 
look  each  other  in  the  face.  It  would  seem  to  me  that 
the  man  who  left  the  company  of  waiters  upon  the 
priests,  who  were  saying  high  mass  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  us  the  wonders  of  the  church,  was  laughing 
in  his  sleeve  at  our  apparent  credulity  as  he  was  de- 
scribing to  us  the  miracle-working  relics.  And  that 
miracle  of  stupid  credulity,  Rev.  Alban  Butler,  tells  us, 
with  all  seriousness,  that  in  1707,  the  shrine  of  St. 
Januarius,  carried  in  solemn  procession,  extinguished 
a  fiery  eruption  of  Mount  Vesuvius !  Indeed,  he  at- 
tributes the  preservation  of  Naples  from  being  buried, 
like  Pompeii,  in  the  lava  of  its  neighboring  volcano,  to 
its  possession  of  the  head,  and  blood,  and  bones  of  this 
old  saint,  whose  holy  history  is  a  monkish  fable.  A 
less  credulous  person  might  ask,  how  Vesuvius  could 
send  its  lava  to  Naples,  without  first  making  a  bridge 
across  the  bay  ? 

The  following  story,  often  published  to  the  confusion 
of  the  priests,  was  confirmed  to  me  in  Naples,  and  by 
a  Neapolitan,  who,  although  avowing  himself  a  Cath- 
olic, loved  the  priests  just  as  much  as  if  he  were  an 
American.  When  the  French,  in  the  days  of  Napoleon, 
occupied  that  country,  the  blood  of  St.  Januarius  refused 
to  liquefy,  as  a  token  of  his  vast  displeasure  with  the 
people  for  permitting  the  Franks  to  abide  there.  The 
awful  news  was  spread  in  whispers  from  the  confes- 
sionals through  the  city.  The  people,  especially  the 
Lazzaroni,  were  determined  on  another  "Sicilian  Ves- 


94  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


The  effect  of  cannon.  Church  of  Ara  CcelL 


pers,"  and  on  the  procession  of  the  vials,  which  usu- 
ally calls  out  the  entire  populace.     The  French  com- 
mander was  informed  of  all  the  plot.     The  day  arrived. 
High  mass  was  said.     The  old  head  of  the  saint  was 
brought  within  sight  of  the  old  vials,  but  the  blood  re- 
fused to  liquefy  !     A  low  murmur  passed  through  all 
the  streets.     Two  cannons  were  wheeled  in  a  moment 
before  the  church,  and  other  cannon  were  at  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  ready  to  sweep  them  in  an  instant.     Or- 
ders were  sent  to  the  priests  in  management  of  the  jug- 
gle, that  unless  the  blood  liquefied  in  ten  minutes,  the 
church  and  city  would  be  fired.     In  five  minutes  the 
saint  changed  his  mind  ;  he  became  alarmed,  fearing 
the  effects  of  a  lighted  match  when  placed  in  contact 
with  gunpowder.     The  blood  boiled  up,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple rejoiced  together.     And  the  priests  yet  delude  the 
people  with  this  contemptible  farce  !     The  priests  that 
performed  Pagan  ceremonies  in  the  temple  of  Castor  and 
Pollux  would  have  given  up  this  bungling  fraud  long 


as;o. 


You  have  no  doubt  heard  of,  if  you  have  not  seen, 
the  church  of  Ara  Cceli  at  Rome.  It  is  a  very  ugly, 
barn-looking  affair  on  the  Capitoline  Hill,  and  on  the 
very  spot,  it  is  said,  where  stood  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
Capitolinus.  It  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Franciscan 
friars,  a  brotherhood,  as  I  can  testify,  that  stand  sadly 
in  need  of  washing.  This  church  is  less  famed  for  its 
fine  frescoes  illustrating  the  life  of  St.  Bernard,  by  Pin- 
turricchio,  than  for  its  wonderful  figure  of  the  infant 
Savior,  the  "  Sanctissimo  Bambino,"  whose  power  in 
curing  the  sick  has  given  it  a  world-wide  popularity, 
and  which  receives  more  fees  than  any  three  physicians 


KIRWAS'S     LETTERS.  95 

The  Bambino.  Its  dress.  Healing  process. 

in  Rome.  "Bambino"  is  the  Italian  word  for  child; 
and  this  image  is  called  II  Bambino — The  Child,  to 
mark  its  superiority  to  all  others.  The  bare-headed 
monks,  either  bowing  profoundly  to  the  earth,  or  pious- 
ly  turning  up  their  faces  to  heaven,  call  it  "II  Sanctis- 
simo  Bambino." 

I  have  seen  this  wonderful  image,  and  yet  I  live  ! 
It  is  a  wooden  doll  about  two  feet  long,  and  not  unlike, 
in  form,  to  the  Dutch  dolls  which  are  often  given  amoncr 
us  as  a  holiday  present  to  children.  It  is  wrapped  in 
swaddling  clothes  after  the  custom  of  the  Italians,  so 
as  to  cover  it  all  save  its  head  and  its  feet.  On  its  head 
is  a  royal  crown,  sparkling  with  brilliants  ;  and  from 
its  head  to  its  feet,  it  is  covered  with  rubies,  emeralds, 
and  diamonds.  This  is  the  favorite  divinity  of  the  low- 
er classes  of  the  Romans,  almost  casting  into  the  shade 
that  of  Mary  herself ! 

As  the  good  fortune  which  always  attended  me  would 
have  it,  I  entered  the  little  chapel  where  this  image  is 
kept  in  state,  just  in  time  to  see  his  little  reverence  go 
through  a  healing  process.  A  monk  opened  for  us  the 
main  door,  and  showed  us  into  a  small  room,  whence 
we  were  shown  by  another  monk  into  the  wonderful 
chapel.  There  were  there,  kneeling  before  the  altar, 
three  poor  women  with  a  sick  child.  The  priest  who 
acted  in  the  affair  was  going  through  some  ceremony 
before  the  altar.  Soon  he  turned  to  the  right,  and  with 
a  solemnity  which,  because  feigned,  was  laughable, 
opened  a  little  cradle  in  which  lay  the  glittering  doll. 
He  prayed  over  it ;  and  then,  taking  it  hi  his  hands  as 
if  unworthy  to  touch  it,  placed  it  in  an  upright  posi- 
tion on  the  altar.     Here  he  prayed  over  it  again.     H» 


96  kirwan's   letters. 

The  ceremony  Its  miracles.  History. 

then  took  it  in  his  hands,  and  touched,  with  its  toe,  the 
head  of  the  sick  child,  and  crossed  it  with  it.  He  then 
put  its  toe  to  the  lips  of  the  child,  which  was  made  to 
kiss  it.  And  then  each  of  the  women,  who  were  all 
the  while  upon  then*  knees,  kissed  its  foot.  After  a  lit- 
tle more  ceremony,  Bamhino  was  put  back  in  his  beau- 
tiful cradle,  and  the  women  withdrew.  When  the 
chapel  was  empty  of  Italians,  we  were  invited  inside 
by  the  priest.  We  were  taken  up  to  the  cradle.  He 
told  us  of  the  immense  value  of  the  jewels,  many  of 
them  the  gifts  of  kings  ;  of  the  many  miracles  wrought 
by  Bambino ;  and  pointed  to  the  many  silver  and  gold 
hearts  by  which  it  was  surrounded,  in  evidence.  He 
gave  us  some  items  of  its  history,  which  were  very  rich. 
The  cradle  lies  under  a  canopy ;  at  one  end  of  it  is 
Joseph ;  at  the  other,  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  and  over  it  is 
an  image  of  (rod  the  Father  !  The  priest  was  polite, 
communicative,  but  grossly  ignorant.  We  paid  him  a 
few  pauls,  and  retired,  wondering  more,  and  more,  and 
more  at  the  shameless,  lying  wonders  of  Popery ;  at  the 
folly  and  wickedness  of  its  priests  ;  and  at  the  stupid- 
ity of  its  people. 

As  the  Bambino  is  among  the  most  wonderful  things 
at  Rome,  and  is  worth  more  than  a  mine  of  gold  to  the 
dirty  monks  of  Ara  Cceli,  I  will  give  you  some  account 
of  it,  as  quoted  from  its  authentic  history,  published 
with  the  permission  of  the  Pope  and  cardinals,  and  for 
the  edification  of  the  faithful ! 

It  was  carved  in  Jerusalem,  by  a  monk  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, from  a  tree  of  olive,  which  grew  near  to  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  The  good  monk  was  in  want  of  paint,  and 
could  find  none.     By  prayer  and  fasting  he  sought  paint 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  97 

_i 

Miraculous  paint.  Saved  from  drowning.  Its  powers. 


from  heaven.  On  a  certain  day  he  fell  asleep,  and  lo ! 
when  he  awoke,  the  little  doll  was  perfectly  painted, 
the  wood  looking  just  like  flesh  !  The  fame  of  this 
prodigy  spread  all  over  the  country,  and  was  the  means 
of  the  conversion  of  many  infidels.  It  was  made  for 
Rome,  and  the  maker  embarked  with  it  for  Italy.  But 
the  ship  was  wrecked  ;  and  when  all  gave  up  the  holy 
image  as  lost,  lo  !  the  case  in  which  it  was,  suddenly 
and  miraculously  appeared  at  Leghorn  !  This  wonder- 
fully increased  its  fame  and  the  veneration  of  the  peo- 
ple. Thence  it  was  soon  transported  to  Rome  ;  and 
when  first  exposed  to  the  devout  gaze  of  believers  on 
the  Capitoline  Hill,  their  shouts  of  joy  and  their  clam- 
orous hallelujahs  ascended  to  the  stars  !  On  a  certain 
occasion,  it  is  said  that  a  devout  lady  took  away  with 
her  the  pretty  doll  to  her  own  house  ;  but,  in  a  few 
days,  he  miraculously  returned  to  his  own  little  chap- 
el, ringing  all  the  bells  of  the  convents  as  he  passed  ! 
The  bells  assembled  all  the  monks,  and  as  they  pressed 
into  the  church,  behold,  to  their  infinite  joy,  Bambino 
was  seated  on  the  altar  !  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a 
wonderful  doll  ? 

But  this  is  not  all.  It  is  the  universal  belief  among 
the  lower  classes  of  the  Romans,  that  the  laying  of  this 
doll  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  of  a  woman  in  child-birth 
insures  a  safe  deliverance  !  It  is  also  the  universal  be- 
lief that  this  doll,  by  a  change  of  its  countenance,  by 
becoming  pale  or  flushed,  infallibly  indicates  whether 
a  sick  person  will  live  or  die  !  And  when  doctors  fail, 
the  aid  of  Bambino  is  invoked  for  the  recovery  of  the 
sick.  It  visits  the  sick  in  a  splendid  coach,  and  is  at- 
tended by  priests  in  full  canonicals.     As  it  passes  along 

E 


98  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

i_ 

Its  worship.  A  shameless  fraud. 

through  the  streets,  every  head  is  uncovered,  and,  how- 
ever muddy  may  he  the  streets,  the  poor  are  on  their 
knees  for  its  worship.  For  these  visitations,  the  monks, 
who  have  the  doll  in  keeping,  charge  the  most  enor- 
mous prices.  During  my  sojourn  in  Rome,  it  was  sent 
for  to  the  Vatican  for  the  healing  of  somebody  sick  in 
the  palace  of  the  Pope  !  And  this  miraculous  image 
is  exposed  to  public  veneration  and  adoration  in  a  scenic 
representation  of  the  stable  at  Bethlehem,  from  the  25th 
of  December  to  the  26th  of  January  of  each  year,  dur- 
ing which  time  tens  of  thousands  of  people  crowd  the 
Ara  Coeli  and  the  Capitoline  Hill  for  the  purposes  of 
its  worship  ! 

Now,  Sir,  here  is  a  shameless  imposture,  palmed  off 
upon  an  ignorant  people  by  impious  priests  and  monks. 
Nor  is  this  thin^  done  in  a  corner.  This  outrageous 
fraud  is  not  perpetrated  in  Connaught,  nor  in  Mexico, 
nor  in  Austria,  nor  down  in  deeply-degraded  Sicily,  but 
in  Rome — on  the  Capitoline  Hill — and  under  the  eye, 
and  by  the  sanction  of  Pio  Nono  and  his  cardinals ! 
What  epithets  or  adjectives  does  our  language  supply 
sufficiently  strong  to  express  our  abhorrence  of  the  enor- 
mous wickedness  of  Pope,  cardinals,  and  priests,  who 
would  thus  delude  and  degrade  an  ignorant  and  con- 
fiding people  !  And  yet,  Sir,  the  priests  of  Romanism, 
steeped  in  these  vile,  lying  superstitions  and  wonders, 
come  over  here  to  tell  us  in  America  that  there  is  no 
salvation  for  us  so  long  as  we  refuse  to  submit  our 
necks  to  the  yoke  of  this  Pope  and  his  cardinals  ! 

And  will  you,  Sir — will  any  American  citizen,  in  any 
form,  give  their  countenance  to  the  shaven-pated  mis- 
sionaries of  such  miraculous  nonsense  ? 

With  great  respect,  yourB. 


kirwan's   letters.  99 


Other  sham  miracles.  Holy  House  of  Loretto. 


LETTER   XII. 

Sham  Miracles.— Holy  House  of  Loretto— its  History— Flight— Dimen- 
sions.—Miracles.— Litany  of  our  Lady  of  Loretto.— Perpetrators  of 
such  Frauds,  Impostors. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  sham 
miracles  of  Romanism,  gotten  up,  and  shamelessly  ad- 
vocated, even  in  our  day,  for  the  purpose  of  maintain- 
ing the  terrible,  the  grinding  influence  of  a  wicked 
priesthood  over  an  ignorant,  deluded,  and  confiding 
people.  Bad  as  is  the  bungle  about  St.  Januarius,  and 
base  as  is  the  conduct  of  the  dirty  Franciscans  with 
the  bandaged  Bambino,  there  are  other  things  of  the 
same  kind,  if  possible,  worse  than  these. 

Have  you,  Sir,  ever  heard  of  the  once  "Very  Rev. 
P.  R.  Kenrick,  Y.  Gr.,"  and  now  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Kenrick  ?  He  figures  not  a  little  among  the  Romish 
priests  of  this  happy  country.  I  have  before  me  his 
wonderful  work  entitled  "  The  Holy  House  of  Loretto." 
It  is  published  by  Cummiskey,  of  Philadelphia.  The 
title-page  is  without  date — so  is  the  preface ;  but  the 
copy-right  of  it  was  secured  by  the  publisher  in  the 
year  1841.  And  if  you  have  any  desire  to  see  the  mis- 
erable legends  which  these  imported  priests  publish  for 
the  edification  of  the  faithful,  just  glance  at  this  won- 
derful book — I  will  not  ask  you  to  read  its  drivel.  The 
authorship  of  such  pages  would  subject  any  man,  save 
a  priest,  to  the  charge  or  the  suspicion  of  lunacy.  But 
the  world  has  become  so  accustomed  to  the  lying  won- 


100  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


Its  history.  Flight  to  Dalmatia.  The  Virgin. 

ders  of  priests,  and  knows  so  well  the  objects  for  which 
they  are  put  forward,  that  now  they  excite  little  more 
than  a  smile  of  contempt. 

This  veracious  hook  of  the  "Very  Rev."  and  vera- 
cious "P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  G-.,"  proves  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all  the  credulous  that  the  house  in  which  the  Savior 
was  horn  became  early  an  object  of  deep  veneration ; 
that  Helena  found  it  at  Nazareth  about  three  hundred 
years  after  the  incarnation  ;  that  it  was  carried  by  an- 
gels through  the  air  in  May,  1291,  and  laid  down  by 
them  upon  a  little  eminence  in  Dalmatia,  where  it  at- 
tracted wonderful  attention,  and  performed  wonderful 
miracles  of  healing ;  that  when  doubts  arose  as  to  its 
character,  "the  blessed  Virgin,  surrounded  by  angelic 
spirits,"  appeared  to  Alexander,  then  priest  of  a  church 
near  by,  and  sick  of  a  violent  fever,  and  informed  him 
that  in  that  house  she  was  born,  lived,  received  the 
message  of  Grabriel,  and  conceived  the   Son  of  God. 
This  vision  appeared  to  Alexander  "between  sleeping 
and  waking,"  and  when  he  had  a  violent  fever.     These, 
you  know,  are  circumstances  under  which  many  be- 
sides "  this  respectable  ecclesiastic"  have  strange  vis- 
ions.    She  moreover  told  him  that  the  apostles  had  con- 
verted this  house  into  a  church ;  that  Peter  had  con- 
secrated its  altar ;  that,  because  insulted  in  Nazareth 
by  infidels,  and  neglected  by  Christians,  it  was  carried 
over  by  angels  to  Dalmatia  ;  and  that,  as  a  miraculous 
proof  of  all  this,  his  health  should  be  immediately  re- 
stored.    "On  awaking,  Alexander  found  himself  im- 
mediately restored  to  health ;"  and  his  story  was  told 
and  believed,  and  was  proved  true  by  the  miracle  of 
his  restoration ! 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  101 


Flight  to  Lauretum.  Walks  off  to  a  hill. 


But  the  story  is  not  ended.  The  Dalmatians  were 
not  long  to  enjoy  this  heavenly  gift  of  an  old  house. 
For  some  cause,  not  discovered  by  the  profound  research- 
es of  the  "  Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  Gr.,"  the  house 
resolved  to  take  another  journey  !  So,  on  the  night  of 
the  10th  of  December,  1294,  some  shepherds,  who  were 
watching  their  flocks,  beheld  a  house,  surrounded  by 
uncommon  splendor,  flying  across  the  Adriatic,  which 
separates  Dalmatia  from  Italy.  The  shepherds  waked 
up  their  companions  to  see  the  "  mysterious  object," 
and  they  all  testified  that  "it  was  of  a  supernatural 
character."  It  pleased  "  the  holy  house"  to  rest  in  a 
district  called  Lauretum,  either  from  its  laurels,  or  from 
the  name  of  the  rich  lady,  Laureta,  to  whom  it  belong- 
ed ;  and  hence  the  name,  "  the  House  of  Loretto,"  which 
it  retains  even  to  this  day !  Soon  it  became  very  fa- 
mous in  its  new  location,  and  tens  of  thousands  flock- 
ed to  it  for  devotion  and  healing ! 

But  the  restless  little  house  was  not  yet  satisfied. 
The  faithful,  who  sought  to  present,  under  its  holy  roof, 
their  offerings  to  the  Virgin,  were  often  robbed  by  ban- 
dits. This  greatly  diminished  the  number  of  pilgrims, 
and,  of  course,  the  revenue  of  the  priests.  To  remedy 
this  evil,  it  walked  off  to  a  small  hill  near  the  road, 
where  the  faithful  might  approach  it  without  fear  of 
robbery.  This  new  miracle  greatly  increased  the  pub- 
lic reverence  for  it,  and  the  revenue.  This  hill  was  the 
joint  property  of  two  brothers,  who  quarreled  about  the 
rent  they  were  to  receive,  when,  in  the  language  of  "the 
Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  Gr.,"  "most  extraordinary 
to  relate,  this  miraculous  house  was  once  more  transfer- 
red, and  placed  in  its  present  site,  a  very  short  distance 


102  kirwan's   letters. 

Gregory  and  the  rock.  Its  dimensions.  Image  of  Mary 

beyond  the  property  of  the  unworthy  brothers."  And 
there  it  remains  "  to  this  present."  And  to  prove  that 
all  this  is  by  no  means  incredible,  he  refers  us,  among 
other  evidences,  to  the  removal  of  a  huge  rock  at  the 
command  of  St.  Gregory,  as  narrated  by  Alban  Butler ! ! 
Now,  Sir,  I  submit  it  to  you,  whether  a  priest  who  can 
write  a  narrative  like  this,  in  our  age  and  country,  is 
not  entitled  to  wear  a  pallium  made  from  the  wool  of 
holy  sheep,  or  from  the  down  of  a  goose  ? 

This  holy  house,  that  can  thus  fly  or  walk  at  pleas- 
ure, is  about  thirty-two  feet  long,  thirteen  feet  wide, 
and  eighteen  feet  high,  with  a  chimney  and  small  bel- 
fry. The  walls  are  of  stone.  There  is  in  it  a  small 
altar,  the  one  dedicated  by  Peter ;  and  on  it  is  an  an- 
tique wooden  cross.  On  the  right  of  the  altar  is  an 
image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  with  the  infant  on  her  arm, 
with  the  hair  of  each  divided  after  the  manner  of  the 
people  of  Nazareth.  This  image  is  surrounded  with 
gold  lamps,  by  whose  constant  glare  and  dazzle  it  is 
somewhat  concealed.  The  Virgin  and  Son  are  most 
gorgeously  decorated,  and  are  brilliant  with  precious 
stones.  This  holy  image  was  carried  to  France  in  1796, 
but  it  was  brought  back  with  pious  pomp ;  and,  wel- 
comed by  the  discharge  of  cannon  and  the  ringing  of 
bells,  it  was  borne  to  the  holy  house  on  a  rich  frame, 
carried  by  eight  bishops,  on  the  5th  day  of-  January, 
1803. 

And  the  miracles  wrought  by  this  holy  house  are 
numerous  and  wonderful.  It  is  hung  round  by  "  the 
votive  offerings  in  gold,  silver,  wax,  and  other  mate- 
rials," presented  by  those  on  whom  miracles  were  per- 
formed.    Pietro  Barbo  was  there  miraculously  healed, 


kirwan's   letters.  103 

Barbo  healed.  Holy  porringer.  Holy  mouse. 


and  was  informed  by  the  Virgin  that  he  would  he  elect- 
ed Pope  !  He  was  so  elected,  and  assumed  the  name 
o*f  Paul  II.  He  issued  a  bull,  dated  November  1,  1464, 
in  which  he  speaks  of  "  the  great  wonders  and  infinite 
miracles"  wrought  by  means  of  the  Holy  Virgin  in  this 
house.  This  house  has  been  the  pet  of  many  a  Pope, 
who  have  expended  treasures  upon  it !  And  there  it 
stands  at  the  present  hour,  "  the  most  celebrated  sanc- 
tuary in  Italy" — hung  round  by  votive  offerings  of  great 
value — visited  by  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
— and  with  a  regular  establishment  of  priests,  sustain- 
ed at  an  enormous  annual  expense,  mainly  collected 
from  the  beggar  pilgrims.  There  also  is  the  "  holy  por- 
ringer," in  which  pap  was  made  for  the  infant  Savior, 
and  which  imparts  wonderful  sanctity  to  every  thing 
that  is  put  into  it !  A  small  stone  from  this  house  has 
been  sold  for  many  dollars  ;  and  it  is  said  that  a  poor 
little  mouse  caught  there  was  preserved  with  great  art- 
istical  skill,  and  was  an  effectual  preservative  against 
diseases  !  ! 

Now,  Sir,  permit  me  to  ask  you  whether  imported 
priests,  one  of  whose  bishops  could  write  such  a  book 
as  the  "  Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  in  which  such  ridic-* 
ulous  fables  are  gravely  detailed  for  the  edification  of 
the  faithful,  are  the  men  to  whom  the  formation  of  the 
religious*  sentiment  and  the  conscience  of  our  country 
should  be  committed  ?  When  our  people  can  believe 
such  drivel,  where  will  they  be  in  the  scale  of  civili- 
zation ?  Where  will  be  the  greatness  and  the  glory  of 
the  country  of  Washington  ? 

But  as  to  this  "Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  there  is  a 
depth  below  any  to  which  we  have  yet  attained  by  the 


104 


KIR  WAN    S     LETTERS. 


Miraculous  picture. 


Its  color. 


Exact  likeness 


aid  of  the  "  Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  Y.  G."  I  would 
gladly  omit  reference  to  it,  because  of  its  blasphemous 
superstition,  and  because  of  my  reluctance  to  refer  to  a 
man  who  is  daily  proving  himself  more  and  more  to  be 
unworthy  of  confidence,  and  who  is  fast  sinking  to  his 
true  level  in  the  estimation  of  Papist  and  Protestant ; 
but  it  seems  necessary  to  the  completion  of  my  picture 
of  this  "  Holy  House."  In  this  flying  house  is  an  im- 
age of  the  Virgin,  with  the  infant  Savior  in  her  arms. 
It  is  grown  black  with  age  ;  nor  can  you  tell  whether 
the  person  of  whom  it  is  an  exact  picture  was  black 
or  white.  Now,  Sir,  conceive  of  one  of  your  own  daugh- 
ters prostrate  on  her  knees  before  that  old  carved  im- 
age, very  far  from  being  fashioned  after  a  beautiful 
model,  and  with  a  Missal  in  her  hand,  praying  to  it,  in 
a  most  devout  manner,  the  following  prayer  : 

"  We  fly  to  thy  patronage,  0  Holy  Mother  of  God ; 

despise  not  our  petitions  in  our  necessities,  but  deliver 

s  from  all  dangers,  0  ever-glorious  and  blessed  Virgin. 

Holy  Mary, 

Holy  Mother  of  God, 

Holy  Virgin  of  Virgins, 

Mother  of  Christ, 

Mother  of  divine  grace, 

Mother  most  pure, 

Mother  most  chaste, 

Mother  undefiled, 

Mother  untouched, 

Mother  most  amiable, 

Mother  most  admirable, 

Mother  of  our  Creator, 

Mother  of  our  Redeemer, 


0Q 


kirwan's   letters. 


105 


Litany  of  our  Lady  of  Loretto. 

Virgin  most  prudent, 

Virgin  most  venerable, 

Virgin  most  renowned, 

Virgin  most  powerful, 

Virgin  most  merciful, 

Virgin  most  faithful, 

Mirror  of  Justice, 

Seat  of  Wisdom, 

Cause  of  our  Joy, 

Spiritual  Vessel, 

Vessel  of  Honor, 

Vessel  of  singular  Devotion, 

Mystical  Rose, 

Tower  of  David, 

h^ 

Tower  of  Ivory, 

p 
*-< 

House  of  Gold, 

"  o1 

Ark  of  the  Covenant 

0 
00 

Grate  of  Heaven, 

Morning  Star, 

Health  of  the  "Weak, 

Refuge  of  Sinners, 

Comforter  of  the  Afflicted, 

Help  of  Christians, 

- 

Queen  of  Angels, 

Queen  of  Patriarchs, 

Queen  of  Prophets, 

Queen  of  Apostles, 

Queen  of  Martyrs, 

Queen  of  Confessors, 

Queen  of  Virgins, 

Queen  of  all  Saints, 

"  We  fly  to  thy  patronage,  0  Holy  IV 

[other  of  God, 

E  2 

106  kirwan's  letters. 

Garden  of  the  soul.  A  conception.  Some  questions. 

despise  not  our  petitions  in  our  necessities,  but  deliver 
us  from  all  dangers,  0  ever- glorious  and  blessed  Virgin. 

"  Pray  for  us,  0  holy  Mother  of  Grod. 

"  That  we  may  be  made  worthy  of  the  promises  of 
Christ." 

This,  Sir,  is  extracted  from  a  book  now  before  rne, 
called  "  The  Garden  of  the  Soul,  a  Manual  of  Fervent 
Prayers,  Pious  Reflections,  and  Solid  Instructions,  cal- 
culated to  answer  the  use  of  the  members  of  all  ranks 
and  conditions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  etc. 
By  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  England,  late  Bishop  of  Charles- 
ton, with  the  approbation  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Hughes, 
Bishop  of  New  York."  And  the  above  extract  is  from 
"  The  Litany  of  Our  Lady  of,  Loretto."  Again  I  say, 
conceive  of  one  of  your  own  daughters  praying  this 
prayer  from  the  Garden  of  the  Soul,  prostrate  on  her 
knees  before  that  black  statue  of  Mary.  Does  not  your 
heart  revolt  from  the  thought  ?  Would  you  not  as  soon 
see  her  bowing  in  a  heathen  temple,  before  a  heathen 
idol  ?  Wherein  would  be  the  practical  difference  ? 
Would  you  not  feel  humbled  at  being  the  father  of  a 
child  that  could  be  reduced  to  the  performance  of  such 
a  miserably  superstitious  and  vainly  repetitious  service 
by  the  arts  of  priests  ?  And  what  would  be  your  feel- 
ings of  indignation  toward  a  priesthood  that  could  thus 
humble  you  by  degrading  your  child  ?  And  it  is  to 
this  low  level  that  Romish  priests,  with  all  their  appli- 
ances, and  all  their  "  deceivableness  of  unrighteous- 
ness," are  seeking  to  reduce  the  youth  of  this  land. 
One  bishop  writes  the  History  of  the  Holy  House — an- 
other bishop  writes,  or  translates,  the  Litany  of  Our 
Lady  of  Loretto — and  John  Hughes,  Bishop  of  New 


kirwan's    letters.  107 


Imposture.  How  to  he  treated.  A  wish. 


;York,  approves  the  whole  !     Have  you,  Sir,  any  lan- 
guage by  which  to  denounce  the  whole  imposture  as  it 
deserves  ?     I  have  none,  and  will  not,  therefore,  under- 
take it.     But  the  men  in  clerical  garb  who  could  coun- 
tenance such  fraud  and  superstition,  should  be  esteemed 
and  treated  as  we  do  the  priests  of  Juggernaut,  or  the 
veriest  impostors  that  live  by  defrauding  the  commu- 
nity.    Such  vile  frauds,  practiced  by  its  priests,  should 
sink  Romanism  as  with  the  weight  of  a  thousand  mill- 
stones to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.     Poor  Dr.  England 
has  gone  to  the  grave.     Peace  to  his  ashes.     But  Bishop 
Kenrick  and  Bishop  Hughes  are  yet  alive  ;   and  the 
greatest  harm  I  wish  them  is,  that  when  the  "  Holy 
House"  resolves  on  another  flight  across  the  Adriatic  to 
Dalmatia,  they  may  be  in  it  as  passengers.     Judging 
from  their  books,  they  will  not  add  materially  to  its 
weight,  nor  will  they  be  any  loss  to  our  country.     In 
their  flight  they  may  responsively  repeat  the  "  Litany 
of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto." 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


< 


108  kirwan's   letters. 

More  sham  miracles.  Their  absurdity.  St.  Anthony. 


LETTER   XIII. 

Sham  Miracles. — St.  Anthony  of  Padua. — The  Virgin  of  Modena.— 
Blood  of  Thomas  a  Becket. — Miracles  of  St.  Patrick. — MiracVs  at 
Downpatrick. — St.  Dagland's  Grave. — The  Boy  exorcised. — Xavier's 
Miracles. — The  wonderful  Crab. — Priests  not  to  be  trusted. 

My  dear  Sir,-t-I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  sham 
miracles  of  Romanism.  You  know  the  Romish  Church 
claims  the  power  of  working  miracles  ;  and  the  abso- 
lute working  of  miracles  is  put  forth  as  an  incontro- 
vertible evidence  of  its  being  the  only  true  Church. 
And  to  sustain  the  monstrous  claim,  no  persons,  save 
those  who  have  waded  through  their  lying  legends,  can 
have  any  conception  of  the  stupendous  absurdity  of  the 
miracles  that  are  adduced.  And  if  those  already  ad- 
duced— the  blood  of  Januarius — Bambino — the  Holv 
House  of  Loretto — patronized  by  popes,  cardinals,  bish- 
ops, kings,  and  nobles,  and  in  the  face  of  the  world  are 
so  unspeakably  absurd,  how  absurd  must  be  those  less- 
er miracles,  palmed  by  wily  priests  on  the  lower  classes 
of  the  people,  and  in  the  dark  corners  of  the  earth, 
where  detection  is  not  apprehended  from  the  peering 
scrutiny  of  Protestant  eyes  !  Let  me  state  to  you  some 
of  these. 

St  Anthony  of  Padua  was  a  giant  in  his  day.  But- 
ler gives  an  abstract  of  his  life,  which  has  been  the 
theme  of  more  than  one  credulous  biographer.  He  was 
a  man  of  eloquence  ;  and,  while  the  rest  df  his  body 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  109 


His  tongue.  A  miracle.  Mary  ot'Modena. 


has  returned  to  dust,  his  tongue  was  found,  thirty -two 
years  after  his  death,  fresh,  red,  and  incorrupt  as  when 
he  was  living,  and  is  now  kept  in  a  most  costly  case 
in  his  church  at  Padua  !  An  unbeliever  said  one  day, 
"  If  this  glass  does  not  break  on  dashing  it  against  that 
stone,  I  will  believe  in  Saint  Anthony."  He  dashed  it 
down,  and  it*  did  not  break  !  The  miracle  was  so  ob- 
vious that  he  immediately  believed  !  Another  infidel 
said  he  would  believe  if  the  dry  slips  of  vines  he  held 
in  one  hand  would  bear  grapes  enough  to  fill  the  cup 
which  he  held  in  the  other.  Immediately  Saint  An- 
thony caused  the  dry  vines  to  bear  grapes  ;  they  ri- 
pened in  an  instant,  and  produced  as  much  juice  as  was 
required,  and  of  the  most  delicious  kind  !  This  infidel 
became  a  most  devout  follower  of  the  saint.  And  by 
narratives  of  miracles  as  contemptible  as  these,  the 
monkish  life  of  this  saint  is  filled  ! 

Amid  the  Alps  in  Savoy,  and  near  to  the  town  of  Mo- 
dena,  there  is  an  image  of  the  Virgin  that  works  many 
miracles,  but  nearly  all  of  the  same  kind.  It  restores, 
on  their  presentation,  dead-born  children  to  life,  just 
long  enough  to  receive  baptism,  when  they  again  ex- 
pire !  And  there  is  abundant  testimony  to  prove  that 
such  children,  when  presented  to  this  image,  open  their 
eyes,  stretch  out  their  hands,  and  even  sometimes  make 
water  !  But  when  baptized,  all  signs  of  life  pass  away  ! 
What  an  image  ! 

Who  has  not  heard  of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket  ?  He 
was  for  ages  the  great  Thaumaturgus  of  England,  and 
wrought  more  miracles  than  did  the  Savior  and  all  his 
apostles.  His  blood,  on  his  being  put  to  death,  was 
carefully  collected,  and  possessed  astonishing  efficacy 


VB 


110  KIRWAN'S     LETTERS. 


Thomas  a  Becket.  Miracles  by  his  blood. 


It  cured  all  diseases,  and  even  restored  the  dead  to  life ! 
When  the  blood  was  found  insufficient  for  the  demands 
of  the  faithful,  it  was  mixed  with  water  ;  and  the  least 
drop  of  water,  if  only  tinged  with  the  blood,  possessed 
a  healing  efficacy.     And  water  thus  tinged  with  the 
blood  of  the  rebel  was  sent  out  into  all  parts  of  the 
Christian  world  as  an  infallible  cure  for  all  kinds  of 
diseases  !     You  full  well  know,  Sir,  what  miracles  of 
wickedness    this    Thomas    of   Canterbury    committed 
while  living,  who  wrought  such  miracles  of  power  aft- 
er he  was  dead  !     But  we  hear  little  of  him  of  late  ! 
Mi^ht  not  a  revival  of  miracles  at  his  shrine  now  great- 
ly  aid  Nicholas  Wiseman  in  subduing  the  iron  obstina- 
cy of  the  English  mind  in  its  resistance  to  the  blessings 
of  Romanism  ?     Might  not  that  remarkably  acute  and 
veracious  historian,  the  "  Very  Reverend  P.  R.  Ken- 
rick,  V.  G\,"  in  the  exercise  of  his  wonderful  gifts  as  an 
antiquarian,  bring  something  to  light  concerning  Beck- 
et which,  at  this  juncture,  might  have  an  effect  of  re- 
viving the  faith  which  in  our  land  is  so  sorrowfully  on 
the  wane  ?     Such  a  work,  especially  if  published  with 
the  approbation  of  the  "  Right  Reverend  Dr.  Hughes," 
might  have  a  most  happy  effect  in  arresting  the  stream 
of  converts  from  Romanism  to  Christianity. 

The  Irish,  although  a  noble  people  in  many  respects, 
are  peculiarly  credulous  and  superstitious.  The  lower 
classes  are  generally  Papists,  and  are  exceedingly  ig- 
norant ;  and  their  faith  in  their  priests,  until  within  a 
few  years,  was  unbounded.  Hence  sham  miracles 
have  been  wrought  there  in  greater  numbers  than,  per- 
haps, in  Italy  itself.  Jocelin's  Life  of  Saint  Patrick  is 
now  before  me,  as  printed  in  Dublin  in  1809,  and  in  a 


kirwan's    letters.  Ill 


Joceliu's  St.  Patrick.  His  many  miracles. 


cheap  form  for  extensive  circulation.  It  contains  little 
more  than  a  detail  of  the  miracles  he  wrought,  some 
of  which  are  of  the  most  astounding  character.  Here 
are  a  few  of  them.  Grormas  was  born  blind.  He  was 
informed,  in  vision,  that  if  he  would,  with  the  hand 
of  4he  boy  Patrick  just  baptized,  make  a  cross  on  the 
ground,  a  spring  of  water  would  rise  on  the  spot,  in 
which,  if  he  would  bathe  his  eyes,  he  would  immedi- 
ately see.  He  did  as  he  was  advised,  and  immediately 
saw  !  And  the  spring  is  there  to  this  day !  But  which 
one  of  many  springs  it  is,  none  can  tell. 

Patrick  went  out  to  play  on  a  cold  day,  and  brought 
home  some  pieces  of  ice  and  cast  them  down.  His 
nurse  told  him,  chidingly,  that  he  ought  to  have  brought 
home  some  dry  wood  for  fire.  He  took  the  pieces  of 
ice,  and,  putting  them  together,  prayed  over  them,  and 
soon  the  ice  was  in  a  blaze  !  Of  course,  the  nurse  was 
astonished,  as  she  was  in  duty  bound  to  be.  Who 
would  not  be  ? 

As  he  was  playing  one  day,  instead  of  minding  his 
flock  of  sheep,  a  wolf  carried  off  one  of  the  lambs.  In 
the  evening  he  was  scolded  for  his  sloth  and  careless- 
ness.  But  he  bore  all  patiently,  and  poured  out  his 
prayers  for  the  restoration  of  the  lamb.  On  the  next 
morning,  when  he  led  the  flock  to  pasture,  the  roguish 
wolf  returned  with  the  lamb  in  its  mouth,  and  laid  it 
at  the  feet  of  Patrick,  and  then  fled  to  the  woods  ! 

Patrick  fell  into  the  hands  of  strangers,  who  sold  him 
to  a  certain  man  for  a  kettle!  "How  small  a  pur- 
chase for  so  precious  a  merchandise,"  exclaims  Jocelyn. 
But  the  kettle  would  not  boil  when  hung  over  the  fire 
— the  hotter  the  fire,  the  colder  was  the  water  in  the 


112  kirwan's   letters. 

A  wonderful  kettle.  A  stone  altar  sailing.  Foylge. 

kettle,  until,  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  the  water  be- 
came ice  !  The  kettle  was  returned,  and  Patrick  was 
taken  back,  when  the  kettle  boiled  as  usual,  and  the 
saint  was  set  at  liberty  ! 

When  Patrick  was  returning  from  Rome,  where  he 
was  made  a  bishop,  as  he  was  about  embarking  at  a 
British  port  for  Ireland,  a  leper  besought  him  to  take 
him  with  him.  He  consented,  but  the  sailors  refused. 
So,  casting  into  the  sea  "  an  altar  of  stone,  that  had 
been  consecrated  and  given  to  him  by  the  Pope,"  he 
ordered  the  leper  to  sit  on  it.  And  the  stone  sailed 
over  the  Channel  as  fast  as  the  ship,  and  got  into  port 
with  its  passenger  in  perfect  safety  ! 

Rius  was  a  very  old  man  and  a  very  great  sinner. 
He  promised  Saint  Patrick  if  he  would  restore  him  to 
the  bloom,  the  freshness,  and  the  joy  of  youth,  that  he 
would  become  a  Christian.  He  prayed  over  him,  and 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  upon  him,  and  he  was  re- 
stored to  "  beautiful  youth,"  when  he  became  a  Chris 
tian. 

A  very  wicked  man,  named  Foylge,  one  day  killed 
the  coachman  of  Patrick.  The  saint  struck  him  dead 
by  a  word,  and  his  soul  went  to  hell.  But  the  devil 
entered  into  the  body  of  Foylge,  and  it  walked  about. 
In  a  few  days  the  saint  was  passing  a  house  where  the 
soulless  body  of  Foylge  was :  he  ordered  the  devil  to 
depart  from  it,  when  the  body  fell  down,  alive  with 
worms  !  It  was  immediately  buried,  as  neither  its 
sight  or  smell  could  be  endured. 

And  with  such  silly  fables  as  these  a  book  of  nearly 
three  hundred  pages  is  filled  !  And  although  the  trans- 
lator will  not  vouch  for  the  entire  truth  of  all  these 


kirwan's   letters.  113 

Priests  a  curse.  Scenes  at  Downpatrick.  St.  Dagland. 

miracles,  and  the  priests  may  deny  its  authority,  yet 
it  is  abroad  among  the  people,  and  its  narratives  are 
believed  by  multitudes.  Nor  do  I  see  any  thing  in  the 
book  any  more  incredible  or  ridiculous  than  the  lying 
wonders  of  the  Bambino  of  Ara  Caeli,  or  of  the  Holy 
House  of  Loretto,  which  are  at  this  hour  encouraged 
by  the  entire  Papal  court,  and  drawing  vast  revenues 
from  every  part  of  the  Papal  world.  Can  a  priesthood 
which  can  palm  such  sublimated  nonsense  upon  any 
people,  have  any  object  in  view  but  their  degradation  ? 
Can  they  be  otherwise  than  a  curse  to  them  ?  Can 
such  priests  be  a  blessing  to  America  ? 

But  Jocelin's  book  is  not  authentic — its  miracles  are 
not  articles  of  faith !  Here  is  the  door  of  escape  for 
the  priests.  Why,  then,  not  denounce  it  ?  Why  do 
priests  aid  in  its  circulation,  while  they  make  bonfires 
of  the  Bible  ?  And  why  permit  things  as  bad,  if  not 
worse  than  any  thing  narrated  in  it,  to  be  practiced 
under  their  eyes  ?  The  grave  of  St.  Patrick  is  said  to 
be  at  Downpatrick,  in  the  county  Down,  in  Ireland. 
There  also  are  the  holy  wells  of  purification.  On  Mid- 
summer eve  of  each  year,  the  people  resort  to  the  grave, 
and  fill  their  ears  with  its  clay,  and  then  rush  to  the 
wells,  there  to  bathe,  for  the  purposes  of  healing  from 
all  their  maladies.  And  men  and  women,  in  perfect 
nudity,  rush  into  the  healing  waters  together  !  And 
priests  are  present  to  hear  confessions,  and  to  receive 
their  pennies  from  the  beggar  pilgrims  to  these  holy 
places  !     Is  any  thing  in  Jocelin  worse  than  this  ? 

The  grave  of  St.  Dagland  is  in  Water  ford.  His  stone 
coffin  is  filled  with  bones  every  year  by  miracle.  On 
the  28th  of  June  of  each  year,  these  bones  are  taken  out, 


114  kirwan's   letters. 


Old  bones.  The  boy  at  Boyle.  Xavier. 


and  are  borne  away  as  precious  relics,  and  as  preserv- 
atives against  various  afflictions  and  diseases.  These 
miraculous  old  bones  are,  of  course,  sold  !  They  have 
no  miraculous  power  unless  they  are  paid  for,  and  that 
pretty  liberally  !  Is  any  thing  in  Jocelin  worse  than 
this  ? 

Within  a  short  time,  a  poor  boy,  near  Boyle,  in  Ire- 
land, went  to  a  Protestant  school.  His  mother  gave 
a  reluctant  consent.  This  boy  was  chilled  almost  to 
death  in  a  bog  during  a  stormy  day,  and  went  home 
violently  sick.  A  numbness  pervaded  his  body,  which 
medicine  and  time  only  could  remove.  The  poor  moth- 
er, thinking  it  was  a  visitation  of  heaven  upon  herself 
and  child  for  permitting  him  to  go  to  the  Protestant 
school,  sent  for  the  priest.  He  confirmed  her  suspi- 
cions, and  offered  to  cast  out  the  devil  that  possessed 
the  boy  on  the  condition  that  he  should  not  go  again 
to  the  Protestant  school.  The  conditions  were  agreed 
to  ;  and  just  as  the  boy  was  on  the  recovery,  the  priest 
exorcised  the  evil  spirit,  and  he  is  now  alive  and  well ! 
And  I  saw  the  poor,  bare-footed  mother  of  that  boy,  who 
submitted  to  the  locking  up  of  the  mind  of  her  child  in 
ignorance,  to  secure  the  muttering  of  a  miserable  ex- 
orcism over  him  by  a  contemptible  priest !  Is  any  thing 
in  Jocelin  worse  than  this  ? 

Have  you  ever,  Sir,  read  the  life  of  Francis  Xavier  ? 
It  was  one  of  the  classics  of  my  youthful  days.  If  you 
have  not,  will  you  permit  me  to  ask  you  to  glance  at 
it — I  do  not  ask  you  to  read  it.  He  wrought  prodig- 
ious miracles,  far  surpassing  in  number  and  power  those 
of  the  Savior  of  the  world.  He  foretold  future  events 
— spoke  unknown  languages — calmed  tempests  at  sea 


kirwan's   letters.  115 


His  miracles.  Wonderful  crab.  St.  Crab. 


— cured  various  diseases — and  raised  the  dead  to  life. 
And  although  all  performed  in  India,  Dr.  Milner,  in  his 
wonderfully  absurd  book,  "  The  End  of  Controversy," 
endorses  them  all.  Permit  me  to  narrate  to  you  one  of 
the  miracles  of  this  saint  as  a  specimen  of  the  rest.  St. 
Francis  had  a  most  precious  crucifix,  which,  in  a  voy 
age  at  sea,  he  lost  overboard.  He  was  inconsolable, 
and  prayed  for  its  recovery.  Walking  one  day  upon 
the  sea-shore,  he  saw  his  lost  crucifix  coming  toward 
him  on  the  surface  of  the  water  !  He  wTent  down  joy- 
fully to  the  water's  edge,  when  a  crab,  holding  the  cru- 
cifix in  his  claws,  paddled  up  to  him,  and  most  rever- 
ently laid  it  down  at  his  feet !  But  the  credit  of  this 
miracle  is  due,  not  so  much  to  Xavier  as  to  the  crab ; 
and,  were  I  one  of  the  court  which  makes  dead  men 
saints,  who  wrought  miracles  in  attestation  of  their 
sanctity,  I  think  I  would  find  it  difficult  to  decide  be- 
tween the  claims  of  Xavier  and  the  crab  for  a  place  in 
the  calendar.  Might  there  not  be  a  St.  Crab  as  well 
as  a  St.  Viar  ?  An  old  stone,  much  mutilated,  was 
found  with  the  letters  S.  Viar  upon  it.  It  was  imme- 
diately supposed  to  be  the  grave-stone  of  St.  Yiar,  who 
was  immediately  placed  in  the  calendar.  The  lost 
pieces  of  the  stone  were  found,  and,  when  put  together, 
the  inscription  ran  thus  :  Prefectus  Viarum,  overseer 
of  the  highways.  Yet  St.  Yiar  was  not  deposed.  And 
what  is  in  the  way  of  having  a  St.  Crab  ? 

Now,  Sir,  are  priests  who  practice  such  gross  frauds 
as  these — who,  by  sham  miracles  like  these,  seek  to 
keep  the  yoke  of  Romanism  upon  the  necks  of  the  ig- 
norant in  all  lands — are  such  priests  to  be  trusted,  or 
in  any  form  countenanced  ?     Are  such  priests  fit  to  be 


116  kirwan's   letters. 


Priest  jugglers.  Not  to  be  countenanced. 


intrusted  with  the  formation  of  the  character  of  our  peo- 
ple ?  Is  not  every  thing  we  hold  dear  in  danger,  just 
in  proportion  to  the  number  and  the  influence  of  such 
jugglers  and  their  adherents  ?  If,  Sir,  it  were  possible 
for  you  to  write  a  book  advocating  these  sham  miracles, 
like  Milner,  or  like  the  "  Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  Q-.," 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  you  would  die  of  the  disease  of 
self-contempt.  And  what  respect  can  you  keep  up  for 
the  priests  that  advocate  them,  or  for  the  system  of  Ro- 
manism, of  whose  literature  and  faith  they  form  so  con- 
spicuous a  part  ? 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


KIR  WAN's     LETTERS.  117 

Relics.  Foundation.  Scala  Sancta. 


LETTER    XIY. 

Relics. — Scala  Sancta. — Sancta  Sanctorum. — Relics  of  Santa  Croce — 
of  St.  Proxede — of  St.  Peter's — in  Milan — in  Cologne. — Sanctioned  by 
the  Church. — Made  to  Order. — That  they  should  be  true,  not  essen- 
tial.— Their  Effects  upon  the  People. — These  Forgers  of  Relics  un- 
fitted to  be  our  moral  Teachers. 

My  dear  Sir, — The  spirit  of  Romanism  is  the  spirit 
of  human  nature.  "Well  considering  the  instincts  of 
the  fallen  nature  of  man,  it  has  built  upon  those  in- 
stincts a  system  of  superstition  which  toners  to  heaven, 
and  which  casts  its  dark  shadow  over  all  the  earth.  A 
regard  for  relics  is  a  part  of  our  nature.  "We  cherish 
with  fond  affection  any  thing  which  serves  as  a  memo- 
rial of  parents,  children,  valued  friends — dt  the  great, 
the  wise,  the  good,  the  heroic,  who  have  adorned  the 
race,  and  blessed  the  earth  by  their  deeds.  And  upon 
this  principle  of  human  nature,  in  itself  innocent,  and, 
within  due  bounds,  laudable,  Romanism  has  built  up 
a  system  of  fraud,  and  falsehood,  and  imposture,  which 
should  unite  the  race  in  hissing  it  out  of  the  world. 
Permit  me  to  ask  your  attention,  in  the  present  letter, 
to  the  relics  of  Romanism. 

Near  to  the  Church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  and  within 
the  same  inciosure,  is  a  little  chapel  which  contains 
the  celebrated  Scala  Sancta,  or  holy  stair-case.  It 
contains  twenty-eight  white  marble  steps  ;  and  the 
priests  inform  us  that  this  is  the  holy  stair-case  which 


118  KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS. 


Transported  by  Angelo.  Beggars.  Luther. 

Christ  several  times  ascended  and  descended  when  he 
appeared  before  Pilate,  and  that  it  was  carried  by  an- 
gels from  Jerusalem  to  Rome.  At  certain  times  it  is 
covered  with  persons  crawling  up  it  on  their  knees,  with 
their  rosaries  in  their  hands,  and  kissing  each  step  as 
they  ascend.  I  called  at  this  place  several  times  to  see 
the  devotees,  but  in  vain.  I  went  up  and  down  the 
lateral  steps  without  any  to  molest  me,  save  a  fleshly 
old  monk,  who  sat  as  sentry  facing  the  holy  stairs,  and 
who  never  failed  to  jingle  a  money-box  in  my  face.  On 
one  occasion,  two  beggars  offered  to  go  up  the  stairs  for 
me,  in  due  form,  for  a  paul  each.,  and1  to  pray  for  me  as 
they  crawled  up  :  but  it  would  look  like  simony,  and  I 
declined  the  bargain.  On  another  occasion,  I  ventured 
to  place  my  Jfrotestant  feet  on  the  three  upper  stairs, 
when  my  valet  was  frightened  into  hysterics  lest  the 
people  should  know  it,  or  I  should  be  punished  for  sac- 
rilege. Resolved  not  to  be  cheated  out  of  a  sight  I  so 
long  desirea  to  see,  I  went  there  on  a  Friday  afternoon, 
and  the  stairs  were  covered  with  people,  mostly  beg- 
gars, most  devoutly  crawling  on  their  knees  ;  and  when 
the  ceremony  was  ended,  going  away  in  the  highest 
merriment.  But  not  a  priest  was  there.  As  I  gazed 
upon  the  revolting  and  superstitious  scene,  my  mind 
recurred  to  that  memorable  day  in  the  world's  history 
when  Luther  ascended  these  stairs.  "  "While  going 
through  his  meritorious  work,"  says  D'Aubigne,  "  he 
thought  he  heard  a  voice  like  thunder  speaking  from 
the  depths  of  his  heart,  *  The  just  shall  live  by  faith? 
These  words  resounded  instantaneously  and  powerfully 
within  him.  He  started  up  in  terror  on  the  steps  up 
which  he  had  been  crawling  :  he  was  horrified  at  him- 


KIR  WAN's     LETTERS.  119 

Made  free.  Sancta  Sanctorum.  Contents. 


self ;  and,  struck  with  shame  for  the  degradation  to 
which  superstition  had  degraded  him,  he  fled  from  the 
scene  of  his  folly."  From  that  hour  he  walked  forth  a 
free  man ;  and  thus  the  fraud  of  the  holy  stairs,  and 
the  revolting,  degrading  superstitions  there  practiced, 
were  promotive  of  the  glorious  Reformation.  This 
grand  incident  gave  those  wooden-covered  stairs  more 
interest  to  me  than  all  the  legends  of  monkery  and 
priestcraft  concerning  them. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  mystery  and  sacredness 
thrown  around  the  little  building  which  contains  these 
holy  stairs.  Here  are  several  apartments  which  are 
kept  locked,  and  to  which  I  sought  admission  in  vain. 
At  the  top  of  the  holy  stairs  is  a  room  called  the  Sanc- 
ta Sanctorum,  which  is  held  in  peculiar  veneration. 
There  is  a  picture  of  the  Savior,  by  Luke,  seven  palms 
high,  and  an  exact  picture  of  him  when  twelve  years 
of  age !  There  is  the  pen  of  the  seraphic  doctor,  brought 
bv  an  angel  from  heaven,  and  with  which  he  wrote  his 
works  !  There  is  a  feather  from  the  wing  of  the  arch- 
angel, which  he  dropped  on  the  salutation  of  Mary ! 
There  is  a  bottle  of  the  milk  of  Mary  !  There  is  a  bot- 
tle of  the  tears  which  Jesus  shed  at  the  grave  of  Laz- 
arus !  And  there  is  the  cord  which  bound  the  Savior 
to  the  post  when  scourged  !  xAjid  in  the  church  itself 
are  the  heads  of  Peter  and  Paul,  which,  on  certain  oc- 
casions, are  exhibited  with  magnificent  parade.  Indeed, 
St.  John  Lateran  is  exceedingly  rich  in  relics,  as  it  ought 
to  be,  considering  it  is  denominated  "  Mater  et  caput 
ecclesiarum." 

The  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  in  Grerusalemme,  is  one 
of  the  great  basilicas  of  Rome.    It  was  built,  it  is  said, 


120  kirwan's  letters. 


Santa  Cioce.  Helena.  Many  relics. 


by  Helena,  on  the  site  of  the  residence  of  the  brute  He- 
lio<rabalus,  and  of  his  successor  Severus.  It  derives 
its  name  from  the  fact,  or  fiction,  that  Helena  deposit- 
ed there  a  third  part  of  the  holy  cross  which  she  dis- 
covered on  Calvary,  and  mixed  with  its  foundation  some 
holy  clay  from  Jerusalem.  This  is  the  place  where  the 
"  golden  rose"  of  former  days  was  consecrated  ;  but  it 
is  now  famous  only  for  its  large  collection  of  relics. 
Near  the  chancel  are  two  catalogues  hung  up  for  the 
perusal  of  all :  one  is  a  detail  of  the  indulgences  grant- 
ed to  all  who  there  worship,  and  the  other  is  a  list  of 
its  sacred  relics.  The  list  I  saw  myself,  and  give  it, 
as  translated  by  Seymour.  It  is  very  rich,  and  worthy 
of  all  attention. 

"  Three  pieces  of  the  true  cross,  deposited  by  Con- 
stantine,  and  kept  in  a  case  of  gold  and  jewels. 

"  The  title  placed  over  the  cross,  with  the  writing  in 
Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin. 

"  One  of  the  most  holy  nails  by  which  our  Lord  Jesus 
was  crucified. 

"  Two  thorns  from  the  crown  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 

"  The  finger  of  St.  Thomas,  which  touched  the  most 
holy  rib  of  the  risen  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  The  transverse  beam  of  the  cross  of  the  repentant 

thief. " 

"  One  of  the  pieces  of  money  supposed  to  be  given  for 
the  betrayal  of  Christ. 

"  The  bodies  of  St.  Csesarius  and  Anastasius. 

"  The  cord  by  which  our  Lord  was  bound  to  the  cross. 

"  The  sponge  which  contained  the  gall  and  worm- 
wood. 

"  A  large  piece  of  the  coat  of  Christ. 


KIR  WAN    S     LETTERS. 


121 


List  of  holy  relics. 


"  A  large  piece  oithe  vail  and  hair  of  the  Virgin. 

"  Some  of  the  clothing  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

"Portions  of  the  arms  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

"  Some  of  the  ashes  of  St.  Lawrence  the  martyr. 

"  A  vessel  of  the  balm  in  which  the  head  of  St.  Vin- 
cent was  dipped. 

"  Some  earth  from.  Calvary  saturated  with  the  blood 
of  Christ. 

«  A  vial  full  of  the  blood  of  Christ. 

"  A  vial  full  of  the  milk  of  Mary. 

"  A  piece  of  the  sepulchre  of  Christ. 

"  A  piece  of  Mount  Calvary. 

il  A  piece  of  the  place  where  Christ  was  smitten." 

To  shorten  this  catalogue  of  wonders,  I  must  omit 
the  list  of  bits  of  stones  from  the  various  places  men- 
tioned in  the  history  of  Christ. 

"  Some  of  the  cotton  in  which  was  collected  the  blood 
of  Christ. 

11  Some  of  the  manna  which  fell  in  the  wilderness. 

"  Some  relics  of  eleven  prophets. 

"  A  portion  of  the  rod  of  Aaron,  that  budded. 

"A  part  of  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist. 

"  Some  of  the  skin  and  hair  of  St.  Catharine  of  Si- 
enna. 

"A  tooth  of  St.  Peter. 

"  A  tooth  of  St.  G-iordon." 

And  then  follows  a  list  of  some  bones  of  a  hundred 
and  one  apostles,  prophets,  martyrs,  widows,  and  vir- 
gins ;  and  the  whole  closes  up  with  "  a  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  cases  of  other  relics  of  saints,  both  male  and 
female,  whose  names  antiquity  has  not  distinguished." 
And  those  relics,  Sir,  are  exposed,  on  certain  occasions, 

F 


122  kirwan's   letters. 


Exposed  to  adoration.  St.  Praxede.  Other  relics 

by  cardinals  and  bishops,  for  the  worship  and  adoration 
of  the  vulgar ! 

The  following  are  some  of  the  relics  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Praxede,  taken  from  the  catalogue  engraved  in 
marble,  and  near  the  altar,  where  all  can  read  it. 

"  A  tooth  of  St.  Peter. 

"  A  tooth  of  St.  Paul. 

"  The  chemise  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary. 

"  The  girdle  of  Christ. 

"-The  reed  and  sponge  given  to  our  Lord  with  gall 
and  vinegar. 

"  The  swaddling  clothes  of  Christ. 

"  The  coat  without  seam,  belonging  to  our  Lord. 

"  Three  thorns  of  the  crown  of  thorns. 

"  The  tomb  of  the  Virgin  Mary." 

Then  follows  a  list  of  the  heads,  arms,  knees,  thighs, 
cloaks  of  apostles,  monks,  martyrs,  saints,  and  virgins, 
with  which  I  will  neither  burden  my  page  nor  your 
memory. 

Even  at  the  risk  of  disgusting  you  and  my  readers 
with  these  miserable  relics,  I  will  name  a  few  more  of 
them.  In  St.  Peter's  they  show  you  the  very  pillar 
against  which  Christ  leaned  in  the  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem— portions  of  the  cross — Veronica's  image  of  the 
Savior — the  head  of  St.  Andrew,  and  the  spear  of  St. 
Longinus,  presented  by  Bajazet.  In  St.  John  Lateran 
is  the  table  at  which  the  Lord's  Supper  was  instituted. 
In  the  Mamartine  prison  they  show  a  curious  stone, 
covered  with  a  grating  to  preserve  it.  It  has  a  hollow 
on  its  surface.  A  soldier  knocked  down  Peter,  and  his 
head  fell  on  this  stone,  and  made  that  deep  hollow  in  it, 
Peter's  head  must  have  been  quite  hard  !     At  St.  Pietre 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  123 


St.  Peter's  chair.  Brazen  serpent.  Scene  at  Cologne. 


di  Vinculo  they  show  the  chain  that  hound  Peter,  and 
which  was  miraculously  broken  by  the  angel !     Filings 
from  this  chain  have  been  sold  at  exorbitant  prices,  to 
be  set  in  rings  and  breast-pins  by  the  faithful !     In  an- 
other church  is  a  square  stone  of  white  marble,  which 
was  carried  by  angels  through  the  air  from  Jerusalem, 
on  which  the  Savior  stood  when  he  met  the  apostles 
after  his  resurrection,  and  bearing  the  marks  of  both 
his  feet!     Around  this  stone  beggars  pray,  and  cover 
it  with  kisses  !     In  Milan  they  show  you  the  skeleton 
of  Borromeo,  gorgeously  arrayed,  and  a  vast  supply  of 
the  teeth,  nails,  hair,  and  bits  of  skin  of  the  apostles, 
put  up  in  glass  vials  ;  as  also  the  brazen  serpent  which 
Moses  made  in  the  wilderness,  and  which  Hezekiah 
caused  to  be  broken  in  pieces  !     These  relics  you  find 
every  where  in  Papal  countries.     In  a  box  behind  the 
altar,  in  the  Cathedral  at  Cologne,  they  have  the  skel- 
etons of  the  three  kings  that  worshiped  the  Savior,  and 
the  bones  of  the  Magi ;  and  for  six  francs  you  are  shown 
these  old  bones,  by  a  jolly  beadle,  for  the  good  of  the 
Church  !     On  the  left,  as  you  enter  by  a  side  door,  and 
turn  toward  the  altar,  is  a  case  containing  Mary  and 
Bambino,  and,  as  is  said,  some  most  precious  relics. 
This  case  I  saw  covered  over  with  heads,  and  arms,  and 
legs,  and  hearts,  made  of  composition,  as  votive  offer- 
ings for  cures  performed  by  the  image  and  the  relics. 
I  saw  a  woman,  and  an  old  man,  and  a  young  girl  dis- 
eased in  the  eyes,  bowing  before  this  case,  while  some 
females  were  scrubbing  the  stone  floor  and  screaming 
at  the  top  of  their  voice,  and  some  boys  were  playing 
hide  and  go  seek  around  them.     But  enough  of  this 
horrible  wickedness  of  the  priests,  and  gross  ignorance 


124  kirwan's   letters. 


Sanctioned.-  Are  tllese  true  relics- 


and  superstition  of  the  people.  I  feel  humiliated  in 
even  penning  these  terrible  evidences  of  the  enormous 
wickedness  of  Romanism  and  its  priests. 

But  you  will  ask,  Are  these  things  sanctioned  by  the 
Pope  and  his  cardinals  ?  Sanctioned  by  them !  Why, 
Sir,  they  glory  in  them.  And  on  set  occasions  these  rel- 
ics are  brought  out  by  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals,  and 
are  exposed  to  the  populace  with  magnificent  pomp,  who 
bow  and  prostrate  themselves  before  these  old  bones, 
old  coats,  old  wood,  and  old  stones,  more  profoundly 
than  they  ever  do  before  Grod !  0,  Sir,  could  you  be 
present  at  the  exhibition  of  relics  in  St.  Peter's — or  in 
St.  John  Lateran — or  in  Santa  Croce  in  Gerusalemme, 
and  witness  the  solemn  pomp  with  which  these  relics 
are  adored  by  Pope,  cardinals,  bishops,  and  the  inferior 
clergy,  you  would  never  again  think  of  the  question 
whether  or  not  they  are  sanctioned  by  the  Pope  and 
his  cardinals ! 

But  are  these  the  true  relics  which  they  are  repre- 
sented to  be  ?  Impossible.  Who  can  believe  that  the 
Holy  House  of  Loretto — the  blood  and  head  of  Janua- 
rius — the  Bambino  of  Ara  Coeli — the  chemise  of  the 
Virgin — the  bottle  of  her  milk — the  robe  of  the  Savior 
— the  bones  of  the  saints,  are  what  they  are  said  to  be  ? 
When  you  push  the  keepers  of  these  relics,  they  will 
admit  that  there  is  no  certainty  as  to  them.  And,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  bodies  of  Peter  and  Paul,  which  are 
said  to  be  under  the  great  altar  of  St.  Peter's,  when  you 
seek  to  find  many  of  them,  they  are  not  there.  Multi- 
tudes of  the  old  cases  and  boxes  which  are  shown  you 
as  the  sacred  deposits  of  relics,  contain  nothing — or 
nothing  like  what  is  represented.  The  thorns  from  the 
crown  of  thorns  are  iron  nails — and  the  bones  of  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  125 


Fit  to  be  a  priest. 


What  motive  ?  Mr.  Milner. 


saints  are  nothing  but  old  bones  collected  from  the  Cat- 
acombs, and  labeled  for  the  market !  The  man  who 
can  believe  that  that  old  feather  is  from  the  wing  of 
G-abriel — that  that  old  cloth  was  the  chemise  of  the 
Virgin — that  those  old  bones  were  those  of  the  persons 
to  whom  they  are  attributed,  is  almost  fit  to  be  a  Pa- 
pal priest!  He  certainly  is,  if  the  other  necessary 
qualifications  are  as  strongly  developed  as  his  credulity. 
Indeed,  he  is  fit  to  be  a  true  yoke-fellow  of  the  "Very 
Reverend  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  G-." 

But  what  motive  can  there  be  for  such  gross  imposi- 
tions ?     Motive  enough  for  men  who  have  no  conscience, 
and  who  traffic  in  the  souls  of  men.     "What  would  be- 
come of  the  monks  of  Ara  Cceli  without  the  wonder- 
working Bambino  ?     They  would  starve.     These  relics 
attract  multitudes  to  their  shrines,  all  of  whom  pay  for 
the  sight,  and  pay  the  priests  in  keeping,  to  say  masses 
for  their  friends  in  Purgatory.     Even  E  nglish  and  Amer- 
ican Protestants  spend  tens  of  thousands  yearly  for  a 
sight  at  these  things,  to  laugh  about  them  after  they 
return  home.     And  Rome  is  the  great  Relic  market  of 
the  world.     "When  a  relic  is  needed  for  the  sanctifying 
of  a  church  in  New  York  or  Baltimore,  an  order  is  sent 
to  the  Holy  City,  and  a  relic  is  made  to  order.     Nothing 
is  needful  but  to  take  off  an  old  label  from  an  old  bone, 
or  a  dry  piece  of  wood,  or  from  an  old  piece  of  stone, 
and  to  put  on  a  new  one.     And  Mr.  Milner  informs  us, 
that  if  our  devotions  are  honest,  it  makes  no  matter 
whether  or  not  the  relic  is  what  it  purports  to  be ! !     If 
you  send  for  a  finger  of  Peter,  and  you  are  sent  the 
finger  of  Pilate,  it  is  just  as  good,  if  you  are  only  sin- 
cere ! !     And  who  doubts  it  ?     And  when  the  boxes  of 
acred  bones  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  to  which 


123  kirwan's   letters. 


Relics  enrich.  The  morale.  Priestly  reverence. 

antiquity  has  assigned  no  names,  but  to  which  priests 
now  do,  are  exhausted,  they  are  very  easily  supplied 
with  bones  just  as  old  and  as  sacred.  Indeed,  these 
relics  do  more  to  enrich  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to 
attract  pilgrims  and  wonder-hunters,  than  any  other 
scheme  which  the  priests  have  devised.  By  means  of 
relics,  the  priests  have  converted  the  Catacombs  into 
mines  of  gold. 

And  what,  you  may  ask,  is  the  morale  of  all  this  ? 
Just  such  as  you  might  expect.     If  no  good  can  be  rea- 
sonably expected  from  worshiping  the  glorious  sun — 
or  the  beautiful  moon,  with  her  attendant  stars — or  the 
magnificent  river,  that  waters  and  fertilizes  the  earth 
— or  the  statue  of  an  old  hero,  that,  by  his  prowess  in 
war,  fought  his  way  to  a  seat  on  Olympus  to  quaff  nec- 
tar with  the  gods,  what  good  can  be  expected  from  the 
veneration  or  worship  of  rotten  bones  from  the  Cata- 
combs— of  little  splinters  from  the  arms,  the  legs,  the 
ribs,  or  the  skulls  of  fabulous  saints — of  holy  bits  of 
skin— of  the  parings  of  holy  nails— of  little  clippings 
of  holy  garments — or  of  pieces  of  old  wood,  or  frag- 
ments of  stones  ?     To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it. 
But  are  these  venerated  or  worshiped,  you  ask  ?     Go 
to  Rome,  and  to  the  Church  of  St.  Peter's,  and  you  will 
see,  at  "  the  exhibition  of  relics,"  the  Pope,  cardinals, 
bishops,  and  priests  kneeling  and  bowing  before  these 
things,  with  a  reverence  as  profound  as  ever  you  saw 
manifested  by  a  congregation  of  Irish  Papists  on  what 
is  called  the  elevation  of  the  Host.     The  Pope  and  his 
entire  court  give,  not  merely  an  assent  to  the  whole 
imposture,  but  are  leaders  in  their  veneration  and  wor- 
ship, and  for  the  purpose  of  giving  eclat  to  the  wicked 
thing  with  the  populace.     And  the  whole  effect  upon 


KIR  WAN's     LETTERS.  127 


Disastrous  effect.  Are  these  the  teachers  for  us  ? 


the  minds  and  morals  of  the  people  is  most  disastrous. 
Grod  is  a  jealous  god,  nor  will  he  give  his  glory  to  an- 
other. Nor  will  he  permit  man,  created  in  his  own 
image,  to  give  to  the  creature  the  worship  which  is  his 
due,  without  causing  the  consequences  of  such  wick- 
edness to  follow  him.  And  the  worshipers  of  those 
old  bones,  and  stones,  and  spears,  and  holy  feathers, 
are  just  as  moral  as  you  might  expect  them  to  be  ;  and 
so  are  the  cardinals  and  priests,  who  are  the  chief  act- 
ors in  the  monstrously  wicked  farce.  As  I  shall  show 
you  in  the  sequel,  Rome  is  another  Sodom. 

Now,  Sir,  in  view  of  all  this,  whose  truthfulness  no 
informed  person  will  question,  permit  me  to  ask  you, 
whether  Romanism  is  the  form  of  religion  suited  to 
our  American  people  ?  Are  these  forgers  of  old  relics, 
and  promoters  of  their  veneration,  and  who  amass  enor- 
mous revenues  by  their  exhibition  and  sale,  the  best 
teachers  of  religion  and  morals  for  us  ?  Is  the  un- 
blushing  effrontery  of  our  imported  bishop  and  priests 
to  be  quietly  borne,  who  tell  us  that  these  forgers  and 
worshipers  of  relics,  and  who,  by  the  sale  of  old  bones 
from*the  Catacombs  as  the  bones  of  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs, defraud  the  world  yearly  of  enormous  sums  of 
money,  are  the  vicegerents  of  G-od,  and  that  there  is 
no  salvation  for  us  but  by  submission  to  their  teaching 
and  authority  ?  What !  no  salvation  for  you  or  me 
save  as  we  submit  to  that  old  Pope  who  bows  in  rev- 
erence and  adoration  before  a  box  of  old  bones  !  Mon- 
strous !  As  well  might  they  send  you  to  learn  patriot- 
ism from  Arnold,  or  me  to  learn  the  religion  of  Grod 
from  the  priests  of  Baal. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


128  KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS. 


Legends.  S.  Carlo.  A  scene  there. 


LETTER    XV. 

Legends. — Sabbath  evening  in  S.  Carlo. — Gorgeous  scene  there. — Le- 
gends from  Butler — from  Lives  of  English  Saints. — Dr.  Duff's  Testi- 
mony.— Foolish  Legends  of  the  Dark  Ages  revived. — The  Religion 
of  Legends  not  fitted  for  America. 

My  dear  Sir, — In  the  present  letter  I  ask  your  at- 
tention to  the  legends  of  Romanism.  Unless  I  greatly 
err  in  judgment,  you  will  find  in  them  another  power- 
ful reason  for  the  utter  rejection  of  a  system  which 
lives  by  fabricating  and  propagating  them. 

My  first  Sabbath  evening  in  Rome  was  spent  in  the 
Church  of  S.  Carlo,  in  the  Corso.  I  was  attracted 
there,  with  others,  to  witness  a  high  ceremony  in  hon- 
or of  a  saint  whose  name  I  now  forget.  The  house  was 
full,  and  in  this  respect  was  an  exception  to  all  I  wit- 
nessed in  Romish  churches  in  Europe.  It  has  three 
naves,  divided  by  Corinthian  columns  ;  the  middtfc  one 
was  crowded  with  children  of  both  sexes ;  the  girls 
dressed  in  white,  with  white  vails  most  gracefully  pin- 
ned on  their  hair,  and  flowing  down  their  shoulders. 
Each  child  held  in  her  right  hand  a  small  stick,  with 
a  beautiful  flower  tied  to  it  with  a  string,  and  in  her 
left,  a  lighted  candle.  A  forest  of  candles  blazed  on  the 
high  altar.  The  Litany  was  responsively  sung  by  the 
choir  and  the  congregation,  and  with  grand  effect.  The 
appearance  of  the  children,  each  holding  their  stick, 
flower,  and   candle,  and   all  kneeling,  rising,  turning 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  129 


A  priest  A  cardinal.  Explanation. 


round  at  the  word  of  command,  like  little  soldiers,  was 
most  interesting.  Indeed,  the  whole  scene  was  a  gor- 
geous one.  At  a  pause  in  the  music,  a  long,  lean  Ital- 
ian priest — and,  in  these  respects,  an  exception  to  his 
short  and  stall-fed  brethren — ascended  a  desk,  and,  in 
a  most  furious  style,  poured  forth  a  short  address  to  the 
children.  The  music  again  struck  up,  and,  at  another 
pause,  a  fat  and  monkish-looking  priest,  from  another 
part  of  the  house,  addressed  them  ;  and,  by  their  winks 
and  smiles,  the  children  seemed  to  enjoy  the  scene  very 
much.  Soon  a  movement  was  made  to  the  left,  and  a 
pussy-looking  cardinal  made  his  appearance,  headed 
and  followed  by  priests  and  servants,  bearing  candles, 
a  crook,  and  a  cross  ;  and,  puffing  under  the  double 
weight  of  his  fat  and  canonicals,  he  made  his  way  to 
the  high  altar.  Mass  was  soon  said,  for  the  evening 
was  quite  hot,  and  the  congregation  dispersed.  "  And 
what,"  said  I  to  our  attendant,  "  is  the  meaning  of  all 
this  ?  What  was  meant  by  that  stick,  and  flower,  and 
those  candles  in  the  hands  of  the  children  ?"    "  This  is 

Saint 's  day,"  said  he.     "  The  saint,  when  once 

going  up  a  hill,  was  very  weary,  and  he  stuck  his  staff* 
in  the  ground,  and  he  leaned  upon  its  top  to  rest.  He 
prayed  for  some  evidence  from  heaven  that  he  was  in 
the  right  way  ;  and  his  dry  stick  instantly  bore  a  beau- 
tiful blossom  !  To  commemorate  that  miracle  was  the 
object  of  the  stick  and  flower  in  the  hands  of  the  chil- 
dren. And  the  candle  was  an  emblem  of  the  light  of 
holiness  reflected  on  the  world  by  his  life."  Not  un- 
derstanding Italian,  "  What,"  I  asked,  "  said  those  loud 
preachers  to  the  children  ?"  "  They  told  them  of  the 
many  wonders  wrought  by  the  saint,  and  exhorted  them 

F2 


?T.     „T      .      «,    ' 


130  kirwan's   letters. 


Legend  defined.  St  Agnes.  St.  Egwin. 

to  venerate  him  and  to  follow  his  example,"  was  the  re- 
ply. Here  is  a  foolish  legend,  that  I  myself  saw  com- 
memorated by  a  cardinal  and  many  priests  ;  and  such 
legends  form  a  great  part  of  the  religious  literature  of 
Romanism.  They  are  published  by  authority,  and  have 
a  prodigious  influence  upon  the  ignorant  Papists  of  all 
nations.  Permit  me  to  detail  a  few  of  them,  remem- 
bering that  "  a  legend  is  a  story  told  respecting  the 
saints."  Some  of  these  I  have  already  detailed  in  my 
letters  to  you  on  sham  miracles. 

A  man  who  insulted  St.  Agnes  was  struck  blind  by 
a  flash  of  light.  On  being  brought  to  the  young  virgin, 
she  immediately  restored  him  to  sight.  She  wrought 
many  miracles.  St.  Anthony  was  often  assaulted  by 
the  Devil  in  human  form,  was  often  beaten  by  him  un- 
til almost  dead,  but  always  came  off  victor.  He  cured 
many  diseases  ;  but  was  especially  famous  for  the  cure 
of  that  disease  which  has  taken  his  name,  "  St.  An- 
thony's fire."  St.  Gudule,  whose  relics  are  in  the 
church  of  that  name  in  Brussels,  lighted  her  candles  by 
her  prayers.  Might  she  not  have  understood  the  pro- 
cess of  making  lucifer  matches  ?  St.  Theodosius  often 
miraculously  supplied  his  many  guests  with  provisions, 
and  a  woman  was  miraculously  healed  of  a  cancer  by 
the  touch  of  his  garment.  A  general ,  going  to  war  with 
the  Persians,  begged  his  hair  shirt,  and,  wearing  it  in 
battle,  gamed  a  great  victory,  "  by  the  protection  of  the 
saint  through  the  pledge  of  that  relic."  St.  Egwin, 
going  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  put  on  his  legs  iron 
shackles,  and  threw  the  key  into  the  Severn ;  but  he 
found  it  in  the  belly  of  a  fish  in  Rome,  which  enabled 
him  to  take  off  his  shackles.     The  miracles  of  St.  Hi- 


kirwan's   letters.  131 


St.  Placidus.  St.  Romuald.  St.  Scholastica. 


lary  fill  a  whole  book.  St.  Placidus  fell  into  a  lake, 
and  was  carried  out  by  a  current  into  deep  water ;  St. 
Benedict  saw  this  in  a  vision,  and  sent  out  St.  Maurus 
to  save  him ;  Maurus  walked  upon  the  water  without 
sinking  in  the  least,  and  drew  him  to  shore.  St.  31a- 
carius  made  a  dead  man  to  speak,  to  convince  an  unbe- 
liever of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 
The  relics  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales  raised  to  life  two  per- 
sons that  were  drowned,  and  have  cured  the  blind  and 
paralytics.  St.  Romuald  drove  several  devils  out  of  his 
cell  who  were  scourging  him,  by  mentioning  the  name 
of  Jesus,  and  calmed  a  tempest  on  the  sea,  and  wrought 
many  miracles.  His  order  of  monks  wear  a  white  robe, 
the  idea  of  which  was  suggested  to  him  by  seeing  them 
going  up  a  ladder  to  heaven  in  white.  He  died  in  the 
year  1020  or  1030,  and  his  body  remained  perfect  as 
late  as  1466.  His  relics  have  wrought  wonders.  St. 
Packard  cured  his  son  by  laying  him  at  the  foot  of  a 
great  crucifix,  and  his  relics  have  wrought  miracles. 
St.  Stephen  told  others  their  secret  thoughts,  wrought 
many  miracles,  as  also  did  his  relics.  St.  Scholastica 
was  the  sister  of  St.  Benedict.  They  met  one  day,  and 
the  sister  insisted  that  her  brother  should  spend  the 
night  with  her.  But  the  rules  of  his  monastery  forbade 
him,  and  he  refused.  She  prayed  the  Lord  to  stop  his 
going  away,  and  immediately  a  most  fearful  storm 
arose,  which  compelled  him  to  remain.  The  sister  died 
in  a  few  days  after,  and  Benedict  saw  her  soul  from 
Mount  Cassino  going  to  heaven  in  the  form  of  a  dove ! 
St.  John  of  Egypt  was  a  prophet,  foretold  future 
events,  and  did  wonders.  He  gave  eyes  to  a  blind  girl, 
and  spent  a  night,  in  vision,  with  a  lady  who  wished 


132  kirwan's   letters. 

The  aguft  cured.  Bollandists.  English  saints. 

to  see  him  in  the  flesh.  He  miraculously  cured  a  man 
of  the  tertian  ague  by  giving  him  a  good  vomit !  Thus 
many  are  cured  of  the  ague  in  our  day,  and  by  doctors 
who  are  not  likely  to  have  a  name  in  the  calendar. 

There  are,  Sir,  two  huge  volumes  before  me,  contain- 
ing, in  double  columns,  about  one  thousand  pages  each. 
They  are  "  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  by  the  Rev.  Alban 
Butler,  and  were  printed  at  the  Metropolitan  Press, 
Baltimore,  in  the  year  1845.  The  legends  here  quoted 
are  taken  from  these  volumes,  which  have  received  the 
highest  approbation  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  Romish 
Church,  and  which  are  crammed  with  just  such  stories. 
There  is  a  saint  or  saintess,  or  several  of  both,  for  each 
day  in  the  year,  and  the  object  of  the  volumes  before 
me  is  to  furnish  to  the  faithful  a  little  devotional  read- 
ing for  each  day,  for  the  purpose  of  kindling  their  de- 
votion, and  exercising  their  faith !  The  latter  effect 
their  perusal  will  most  certainly  produce  !  And  yet, 
for  the  sake  of  his  English  and  Protestant  readers,  But- 
ler omits  many  miracles  of  the  saints  exultingly  nar- 
rated by  the  Bollandists,  the  Jesuit  compilers  of  the 
Acta  Sanctorum,  which,  without  being  completed,  al- 
ready consists  of  nearly  sixty  folio  volumes. 

To  show  you  that,  the  greater  the  absurdity,  the  great- 
er the  faith,  I  will  produce  a  few  more  of  these  legends, 
as  quoted  from  the  "  Lives  of  the  English  Saints  '  If 
you  or  I  disbelieve  them,  or  smile  at  them,  we  are  very 
gravely  told  that  it  is  because  "  the  natural  man  dis- 
cerneth  not  the  things  of  the  spirit,"  or  because  of  "the 
intellectual  darkness  caused  by  three  centuries  of  her- 
esy." This,  Sir,  is  not  the  ravings  of  superstition  with 
multitudes,  however  you  or  my  readers  may  smile. 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  133 


St.  Frodobert.  Pranks  of  demons.  An  old  mill. 


The  saints  were  greatly  tormented  by  demons.     St. 
Frodobert  was  often  stopped  by  one,  when  going  to 
school.     He  drove  him  away  with  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
When  at  prayer  one  night,  a  devil  put  out  his  candle. 
Another  used  to  steal  the  bread  of  St.  Auratus.     An- 
other broke  the  bell  of  St.  Benedict,  with  which,  when 
living  on  a  rock,  he  used  to  ring  for  bread.     Another 
cast  down  part  of  a  rock  to  kill  St.  Auratus  in  his  cell ; 
but  the  saint  made  it  stop  half  way  down  the  precipice. 
Many  female  devils  used  to  tempt  the  saints  to  sin,  but 
always  in  vain.     What  a  pity  their  power  of  resistance 
was  not  transmitted,  by  a  kind  of  apostolic  succession, 
to  the  cardinals  and  priests  of  Rome.     St.  Julian,  St. 
Tozzo,  St.  Grail,  St.  Maximin,  slew  dragons.     St.  Samp- 
son killed  several.     St.  Senan  made  a  very  small  can- 
dle burn  a  whole  week.     St.  Faro  made  instantly  whole 
a  cup  broken  by  his  servant.     St.  Aicardus  hung  up  his 
gloves  on  a  sunbeam.     St.  Fintan,  expecting  company, 
and  having  no  flour  for  bread,  ordered  an  old  mill,  which 
had  neither  wheat  nor  water,  to  supply  him,  and  it  went 
right  to  work  and  did  so.     St.  Tillo,  on  finding  that  his 
monks  had  no  wine  to  give  him,  filled  their  barrel  by 
miracle.     I  wonder  if  this  was  the  beginning  of  that 
strong  relish  for  wine  for  which  the  monks  are  famous 
even  to  our  day !     The  reapers  of  St.  G-enevieve  were 
greatly  incommoded  by  rain.    She  came  out  and  ordered 
it  away,  and  it  obeyed.     St.  Grildas  and  his  companions 
took  up  their  abode  on  an  island  inconveniently  small. 
It  miraculously  expanded  to  accommodate  them.     St. 
Mochua  and  his  companions  sailed  over  a  river  on  his 
cloak.     St.  Cannera  walked  over  the  sea.     St.  Barras, 
sailing  in  a  ship,  met  St.  Scothinus  walking  over  the 


134  kirwan's   letters. 


Scothinus.  Telegraph  beaten.  Piles  of  trash. 


Irish  Channel.     He  asked  the  saint  on  what  he  was 
walking.     Scothinus  replied,  "On  a  beautiful  green 
meadow."     And  when  Barras  denied  this,  he  plucked 
a  handful  of  fresh  flowers,  and  presented  them  to  him. 
But  Barras  turned  his  own  logic  against  him,  by  thrust- 
ing his  hand  into  the  sea,  and  drawing  it  up  full  of  fish- 
es.    And  long  before  rail-ways,  or  telegraphs,  or  ocean 
steamers  were  invented,  the  above  Scothinus  usually 
went  from  Ireland  to  Rome  in  a  day,  transacted  his 
business  there  with  his  holiness  in  the  evening,  and 
was  back  the  next  morning.     The  Holy  Virgin  ap- 
peared to  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  in  the  Church  of  Fog- 
gia,  and  was  seen  by  all  with  the  beautiful  face  of  a 
girl  of  fourteen ;  and  so  fervent  was  he  once  in  pray- 
ing to  her,  that  he  rose  up  in  the  air,  where  he  remained 
suspended  for  some  time.     He  must  have  been  made 
of  light  material.     St.  Ita,  finding  a  man  dead,  with  his 
head  cut  off,  put  it  on  again,  restored  him  to  life,  and 
sent  him  about  his  business.     And  St.  Cronon  caused 
a  wild  beast,  which  had  killed  and  devoured  a  man,  to 
cast  him  up,  and  then  restored  him  to  life.     And  with 
legends  like  these,  which  are  published  even  in  our  day, 
for  the  edificatioir*of  poor,  hood- winked  Papists,  I  could 
fill  volumes.     These,  Sir,  are  taken  indiscriminately 
from  the  piles  of  trash  before  me,  and  are  by  no  means 
the  worst  of  their  kind.     But  the  miracles  of  the  saints, 
when  living,  dwindle  into  insignificance,  both  as  to 
number  and  magnitude,  in  comparison  with  those  per- 
formed by  their  old  bones  when  dead. 

And  are  these  monstrous  and  contemptibly  silly  le- 
gends now  out  of  date,  and  disregarded  by  the  people 
and  priests  ?     Far  from  it.     The  report  of  the  speech 


kirwan's   letters.  135 


Dr.  Duff  s  statement.  Xavier's  New  Testament. 


of  the  apostolic  Dr.  Duff,  which  I  heard  him  make  be- 
fore the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  at  its  last 
now  before  me,  in  which  he  makes  the  foh 
tl  hi  tats:  "  There  is  circulating  a  work  in 
idia  atitled  The  History  of  Christ.  And  what  do 
i  think  it  consists  of?  Ten  thousand  legends,  more 
monstrous  than  what  is  to  be  found  in  the  Talmud. 
And  this  has  been  circulated,  in  the  name  of  truth,  as 
the  history  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Savior.  And  it  is 
a  notorious  fact,  that  when  the  great  Emperor  Agbad 
had,  in  his  tolerance,  invited  men  of  all  religions  to 
come  to  him,  the  celebrated  Xavier,  the  Jesuit,  went 
to  tell  him  what  Christianity  was.  The  emperor's 
mind  was  open  to  the  reception  of  the  truth  from  all 
quarters,  and  he  was  really  dissatisfied  with  Moham- 
medanism. Xavier  reasoned  in  this  manner :  '  Here 
is  a  Mohammedan  ;  he  must  be  saturated  with  Mo- 
hammedan legends.  If  I  tell  him  the  plain  truth,  ac- 
cording to  the  simplicity  of  the  Bible,  he  will  nause- 
ate the  whole  thing,  because  of  its  simplicity  ;  I  must 
therefore  fix  up  Christianity  to  suit  his  taste.'  And 
he  manufactured  a  New  Testament  for  him,  filled  with 
all  manner  of  Persian  legends,  and  represented  this  to 
the  emperor  as  the  New  Testament.  The  emperor  read 
it,  and,  with  the  simplicity  of  heart  and  sagacity  which 
belonged  to  him,  returned  it,  saying,  '  If  this  be  your 
Shaster,  I  have  enough  of  such  legends  already,  without 
coming  to  you  to  get  more.'  "  And,  Sir,  wherever  the 
missionaries  of  Romanism  go  in  the  propagation  of  that 
faith — whether  to  the  Indians  of  our  own  woods,  to  the 
islanders  of  the  Pacific,  to  the  savages  of  Africa,  or  to 
the  more  refined  idolaters  of  India — they  pursue  the 


136  kirwan's   letters. 

No  Bibles.  Romish  sermons.  Suited  to  us. 

precise  course  of  Xavier  at  the  court  of  Agbad.  Dr. 
Duff  testifies  that,  among  the  converts  to  Romanism  in 
India,  not  a  leaf  of  the  Bible  has  been  circulated  for 
three  hundred  years,  while  these  utterly  despicable  le- 
gends are  circulated  there  without  measure  or  end. 

And  when,  Sir,  you  hear  an  occasional  sermon  in  a 
Romish  church,  what  is  the  topic  of  discussion  ?  Ev- 
ery day  in  the  year  is  a  saint's  day ;  some  days  have 
many  saints  allotted  to  them.  Is  it  not  generally  a 
harangue  upon  some  saint — his  wonderful  miracles — 
and  the  whole  twisted  into  an  argument  to  prove  that 
the  Church  of  Rome  is  the  only  true  Church,  out  of 
whose  pale  there  is  no  salvation  ?  Did  you  ever  hear 
an  Irish  priest  preach  on  St.  Patrick's  day  ?  If  not, 
embrace  the  first  opportunity ;  and  if  you  will  not  hear 
of  St.  Patrick  sailing  on  a  flag-stone,  it  is  because  the 
priest  recognizes  you  among  his  hearers,  and  as  one 
more  afflicted  with  the  terrific  disease  of  judging  for 
yourself  than  the  rest  of  them.  And  I  am  credibly  in- 
formed that  the  chief  topics  upon  which  the  priests 
dwell  in  the  chapels  filled  with  the  poor  Germans  and 
Irish,  even  in  America,  are  the  legends,  not  merely  as 
found  sifted  out  in  the  volumes  of  Butler,  but  as  nar- 
rated, in  all  their  grotesqueness,  in  the  huge  folios  of 
the  Bollandists. 

Now,  Sir,  as  one  having  as  much  at  stake  as  any 
other  man  in  this  nation — as  one  adorning  its  present 
history,  and  as  truly  desirous  of  its  future  glory,  per- 
mit me  to  ask  you  whether  you  think  these  legends 
form  the  best  religious  literature  for  our  people?  Is 
it  that  best  calculated  to  instruct  and  to  ennoble  the 
mind  ?     Does  not  such-trash  oppress  the  mind  ?     Does 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  137 

Faith  in  these  things  injurious.  Priests  believe  them  not. 


not  belief  in  it  enfeeble  its  powers  and  debase  the  man  ? 
Will  not  the  people  that  believe  these  things  believe 
any  thing  ?     And  can  they  be  fit  material  out  of  which 
to  make  Republicans,  and  noble  defenders  of  free  insti- 
tutions ?     Are  the  priests  that  write  and  circulate  these 
legends  worthy  of  trust  ?     They  can  not  believe  them 
themselves,  and  they  write  and  propagate  them  for  the 
very  reasons  that  Xavier  wrote  a  New  Testament  to 
suit  the  Emperor  Agbad.     The  volumes  of  Butler  are 
printed  in  your  city,  by  the  Bishop's  press.     They  are 
sold,  as  the  illustrated  title-page  informs  us,  "by  all 
the   Catholic   booksellers   in  the  United  States."     If 
these  legends  are  disbelieved  by  your  bishop,  why  per- 
mit his  press  to  print  them  ?     Why  wink  at  their  uni- 
versal sale  in  the  country  ?     Why  not  raise  his  voice 
against  them  ?     That  Romish  bishops  believe  these  le- 
gends themselves  is  impossible  ;  but  they  amaze  the 
ignorant,  overwhelm  them  with  wonder,  foster  their 
superstitious   regard   for   nunnery   and   monkery — for 
bishops,  abbots,  and  hermits — for  signs  of  the  cross, 
holy  wells,  and  relics — and  for  those  means  devised  by 
a  wicked  priesthood  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  Light 
of  Life  from  the  minds  of  the  people.     When,  Sir,  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  is  supplanted  by  the  religion  of 
legends — when  the  sturdy  Protestantism,  that  thinks 
for  itself,  is  supplanted  by  that  religion  that  gives  up 
all  thinking  to  the  priest — when  the  twenty-two  or 
three  millions  of  people  who,  in  our  happy  land,  will 
believe  only  on  evidence,  is  supplanted  by  a  people 
who  will  believe  all  the  lying  legends  of  Romanism — 
then  the  last  rays  of  the  glorious  sun  of  our  liberty 
are  fading  away  on  the  summit  of  our  mountains. 


138  KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS. 


Liberty's  midnight,  Rome's  high  noon. 


The  midnight  of  liberty  is  the  high  noon  of  Roman- 
ism ;  and  the  deepest  darkness  of  despotism  is  the  par- 
adise  of  the  priest. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


k  i  r  w  ax's    letter  s.  139 


Not  the  worship  of  God.  Various  kinds  of  worship. 


LETTER   XVI. 

The  Mass  not  the  Worship  of  God. — A  theatrical  Exhibition. — Wal 
densian  Church  in  Turin. — High  Ceremonies  of  Rome  all  theatrical 
— Feast  of  the  Nativity. — Visit  of  the  Wise  Men. — Procession  of 
Palms. — Judgment-hall  of  Pilate.  —  Procession  at  Bonville. — Sab 
bath  evening  Service  in  Edinburgh. — Popish  Plays  and  Play-actors 
not  suited  to  America. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  hope  that  by  this  time  your  mind, 
and  those  of  my  readers,  are  prepared  for  the  conclu- 
sion to  which  my  own  has  long  since  arrived — that 
Romanism  is  not  Christianity ;  and  that  its  priests, 
whatever  else  they  may  he,  are  not  the  ministers  of 
Christ,  nor  of  his  glorious  (xospel.  If  this  conclusion 
is  just,  another  immediately  follows :  neither  is  its  wor- 
ship the  worship  of  God.  If  not  prepared  for  this  con- 
clusion now,  you  may  he  at  the  close  of  the  present 
letter,  in  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  establish  its  truth. 

The  Scriptures  speak  of  various  kinds  of  worship ; 
as,  the  worship  of  Grod — the  worship  of  idols — the  wor- 
ship of  the  dragon  and  the  beast — and  the  worship  of 
devils.  And  we  find  various  kinds  of  worship  in  the 
world,  and  under  various  forms.  Some  truly  worship 
(rod  in  spirit  and  in  truth — some  worship  idols — some 
devils — some  mammon — some  are  "  will  worshipers" 
— and  some  worship  "  they  know  not  what ;"  but  all 
is  in  vain,  save  that  of  "  the  circumcision,  which  wor- 
ship Grod  in  spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  have 
no  confidence  in  the  flesh."     Acceptable  worship  em- 


140  K  I  II  W  A  N  '  S     LETTERS. 

Acceptable  worship.  The  Mass.  What  is  it! 

braces  the  outward  homage,  and  the  inward  feeling ; 
but  the  external  act  is  nothing,  save  as  it  expresses  the 
sincere  internal  feeling  ;  for  they  who  worship  G-od 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  True  wor- 
ship is  not  confined  to  places,  occasions,  or  persons  ; 
wherever  the  heart  bows  in  humility  before  G-od,  for 
the  purpose  of  exalting  his  glorious  name  and  perfec- 
tions, there  he  is  truly  worshiped.  And,  as  God  is  the 
father  of  all  men,  all  men  have  access  to  Him  for  them- 
selves, through  his  Son.     All  this  is  plain. 

The  worship  of  Romanism  consists  mainly  in  the 
Mass.  There  are  missals,  and  penances,  and  prayers 
for  private  use  ;  and  there  are  high  ceremonies  for  cer- 
tain feasts  and  great  occasions ;  but  the  Mass — the 
mass  mumbled  over  in  the  same  way  in  Connaught, 
Paris,  and  Rome,  and  with  the  same  sleepy,  unvary- 
ing monotony,  is  that  which  makes  up  the  public  wor- 
ship of  the  people.  Now  what  is  the  Mass  ?  is  it  wor- 
ship ?  I  unhesitatingly  say  it  is  not ;  that  it  has  no 
more  claim  to  be  the  worship  of  God  than  had  the 
ceremonies  of  Pagan  priests  at  the  altars  of  Pagan 
Rome.  At  best,  it  is  only  a  theatrical  representation 
of  the  truths  which  it  purports  to  exhibit.  And  hence, 
Bishop  England,  and  other  Papal  writers,  talk  of  the 
"  performance  of  the  mass,"  as  we  ordinarily  speak  of 
the  performance  of  a  tragedy  or  a  farce.  And  the  Mass 
holds  precisely  the  same  relation  to  the  history  of  Christ 
which  Richard  III.,  Henry  VIII. ,  John  II.,  or  any  other 
of  the  historical  plays  of  Shakspeare  do  to  the  charac- 
ters and  times  which  they  represent.  This  even  a  su- 
perficial anatomy  of  the  Mass  will  render  quite  evident. 

As  the  sensuous  encroached  on  the  spiritual  in  Chris- 


K I  R  W  A  N 


f's     LETTERS.  141 


fteligious  tragedies.  l'riests  dress  symbolical. 

tianity,  and  as  the  shades  of  that  long  night  called 
"  the  Dark  Ages"  thickened  over  our  world,  all  the  ten- 
dencies of  religion  were  to  the  outward.  The  Bible 
was  soon  confined  to  cloisters,  and  it  became  the  inter- 
est of  priests  to  keep  it  there.  To  keep  up  the  great 
facts  of  our  religion  in  some  way  before  the  people,  por- 
tions of  sacred  history  were  dramatized,  and  acted  be- 
fore the  faithful.  And  this  system,  somewhat  modified 
in  different  countries  to  suit  the  different  states  of  civ- 
ilization, exists  at  the  present  day.  To  see  the  system 
in  full  operation,  you  must  go  to  Rome,  where  the 
tragedy  and  the  farce  are  performed  in  gorgeous  style. 
But  I  must  return  to  the  "performance  of  the  Mass," 
in  which,  "  under  the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine, 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world  is  offered  up  in  an  unbloody 
manner,  as  a  true,  proper,  and  propitiatory  sacrifice  for 
the  living  and  the  dead."  According  to  Dr.  England, 
the  altar  signifies  Christ — the  white  cloth  that  covers 
it,  "  the  purity  which  should  accompany  Christ" — and 
the  vestments  of  the  priests  are  to  remind  us  of  the  pas- 
sion of  Christ.  The  alba  represents  the  white  garment 
in  which  Herod  clad  the  Savior — the  cincture  reminds 
us  that  Christ  was  bound — the  maniple  hanging  upon 
the  left  arm,  reminds  us  of  the  weight  of  our  sins  as 
borne  by  Christ — the  stole  on  the  priest's  neck  and 
crossed  on  the  breast,  represents  the  obedience  of  the 
Son  of  G-od — the  chasuble,  or  outward  vestment,  with 
a  hole  in  the  centre  for  the  head,  with  a  cross  embroi- 
dered on  the  back,  and  two  stripes  representing  a  pillar 
on  the  front,  reminds  us  of  Christ  bearing  the  cross. 
When  the  priest  is  thus  dressed  up,  he  is  prepared  for 
acting.     The  wafer  and  wine  are  then  brought  out — 


142  KIRWAN    S     L.  E  T  T  E  R  S. 


Theatrical  representation.  Waldensian  church. 

they  are  turned  into  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord, 
by  the  priest — then,  as  real  Christ,  he  is  offered  as  a 
victim  to  God  on  behalf  of  the  people — then  the  victim 
undergoes  a  destructive  change,  to  show  the  death  of 
the  Redeemer — then  the  elements  are  separated,  tha 
real  body  is  seen  under  the  appearance  of  bread,  and 
the  real  blood  under  the  appearance  of  wine,  and  the 
priest  eats  the  one  and  drinks  the  other.  Then  the 
people  are  dismissed,  if  true  believers,  wonderfully  edi- 
fied and  instructed — if  not,  smiling  at  the  credulity  of 
those  who  can  believe  that  there  is  any  worship  in  all 
this  !  This  is  the  Mass  !  Now,  Sir,  if  this  is  any  thing 
but  a  theatrical  representation  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
with  little  meaning  and  less  sense,  in  which  the  altar 
is  the  stage,  the  priest  the  chief  actor,  the  people  the 
spectators,  and  the  church  the  theatre,  what  is  it  ? 
And  when,  as  in  high  mass,  the  dramatis  personse  are 
multiplied,  and  opera  singers  are  brought  in  to  give  at- 
traction to  the  various  scenes,  the  conclusion  is  irresist- 
ible that,  instead  of  being  engaged  in  the  worship  of 
(xod,  you  are  actually  witnessing  a  theatrical  exhibition. 
Never  did  I  feel  this  to  such  an  extent  as  in  June 
last,  when,  after  weeks  spent  amid  the  mass-houses  of 
France,  and  Naples,  and  Rome,  I  entered,  on  a  pleasant- 
Sabbath  morning,  the  extremely  plain  and  primitive- 
lookinsr  church  of  the  Waldenses,  in  Turin.  On  look- 
ing  around  me,  instead  of  pictures,  and  statuary,  and 
frescoes,  I  found  all  the  walls  presenting  to  the  eye  some 
passages  of  Scripture.  On  looking  before  me>  instead 
of  an  altar  blazing  with  candles  and  gilding,  I  saw  a 
neat  pulpit,  with  a  large  open  Bible,  and  a  minister  of 
Grod  reading  and  expounding  it.     Instead  of  persons 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  143 


The  transition.  Nativity.  Feast  of  the  wise  men. 

^azirifif  around  with  ^uide-books  in  their  hands;,  talking 
and  criticizing,  and  smiling,  I  saw  a  devout  people, 
with  Bibles  in  their  hands,  turning  up  the  text,  and 
the  passages  read,  and  most  devoutly  singing  God's 
praises,  and  joining  in  the  prayers  that  were  offered  ! 
The  sight  and  the  scene  were  truly  refreshing  to  a  mind 
jaded,  and  a  heart  disgusted  with  all  I  had  witnessed 
for  the  few  previous  weeks.  The  transition  seemed 
like  passing  from  Purgatory  to  Paradise.  Here  was 
worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  while  the  gorgeous  and 
heartless  ceremonies  of  splendid  cathedrals  were  a  mere 
acting,  and  by  wretched  actors,  of  truths  and  things 
which  neither  priests  nor  people  understood. 

And  this  theatrical  aspect  of  the  Popish  ritual  is  yet 
more  apparent,  if  you  pass  from  the  Mass  to  the  cere- 
monies of  some  of  the  high  days  of  the  Church.  Sey- 
mour, in  his  Pilgrimage  to  Rome,  has  made  this  quite 
obvious  as  well  as  ludicrous.  In  St.  Maria  Maggiore, 
in  Rome,  they  profess  to  have  the  cradle  in  which  the 
Savior  was  laid  at  his  birth,  and  at  the  feast  of  the  Na- 
tivity they  bring  out  that  cradle,  before  the  dawn  of 
day,  and,  amid  processions  of  priests,  monks,  nuns,  pre- 
ceded by  incense,  accompanied  by  singers,  and  guard- 
ed by  soldiers,  it  is  placed'  on  the  high  altar  for  the 
view  and  worship  of  the  faithful !  And,  after  all,  the 
wonderful  cradle  is  only  a  splinter  of  old  wood,  covered 
with  silver,  and  in  a  case  of  glass,  and  said  to  be  a 
part  of  the  manger !  And  the  theatrical  acting  of  the 
Nativity  attracts  its  thousands ! 

The  visit  of  the  wise  men  of  the  East  to  the  Savior 
is  acted  out  in  the  Church  of  Andrea  della  Valle  with 
great  scenic  effect.     Mary,  with  her  son  on  her  knee, 


144  kirwan's   letters. 

The  introduction.  Palm  trees.  Judgment-hall. 


is  seated  on  a  throne — the  Magi,  transubstantiated  into 
kings,  dressed  with  crowns  and  purple,  are  introduced 
to  her,  and,  after  acting  the  parts  assigned  to  them,  re- 
tire. And  as  a  reward  for  their  labor  and  homage,  she 
gives  them  some  of  the  milk  on  which  the  Savior  was 
nourished,  and  which  they  carry  away  as  a  precious 
relic ! 

The  feast  to  commemorate  the  strewing  of  the  path 
of  the  Savior  with  branches  of  trees  is  yearly  celebrated 
with  great  pomp  at  St.  Peter's.  The  Pope,  magnifi- 
cently arrayed,  is  carried  into  the  church  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  eight  men,  attended  by  his  court.  The  priests 
bring  him  palm-trees,  which  he  blesses  and  sprinkles 
with  holy  water.  Then  the  cardinals,  bishops,  priests, 
and  forei-gn  ministers  receive  from  his  holiness  a  palm, 
some  kissing  his  hand,  and  others  his  foot.  Then  the 
procession  of  palms  commences,  and  the  whole  is  ended 
by  high  mass  ;  after  which,  thirty  years'  indulgence  is 
granted  to  all  who  witness  the  ceremony !  And  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  Holy  Week,  all  the  cere- 
monies, by  day  and  by  night,  are  nothing  but  repre- 
sentations, in  a  theatrical  form,  of  the  sufferings  of  our 
Lord,  about  whose  true  history  the  people  know  far  less 
than  do  those  of  the  history  of  England,  who  know 
nothing  of  it  but  what  they  learn  from  witnessing  the 
actings  of  the  historical  dramas  of  Shakspeare  ! 

If  further  evidence  is  necessary  as  to  the  theatrical 
character  of  the  Romish  worship,  permit  me  to  quote 
from  Seymour  his  account  of  the  ceremony  of  Holy 
"Week,  which  represents  the  judgment -hall  of  Pilate. 
"  The  G-ospel  is  read  by  three  priests.  One  of  them  per- 
sonates the  Evangelist  who  wrote  the  G-ospel ;  and  his 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  145 

The  acting.  Choir.  Tawdry  shows. 

part  is  to  read  the  narrative  as  detailed.  A  second  per- 
sonates Pontius  Pilate,  the  maid  at  the  door,  the  priests, 
the  Pharisees  ;  and  his  part  is  to  read  those  sentences 
which  were  spoken  by  them.  The  third  personates  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  his  part  is  to  read  the  words 
which  were  uttered  by  him  on  the  occasion.  To  give 
the  greater  effect  to  the  whole,  the  choir  is  appointed 
to  undertake  those  parts  which  were  the  words  of  the 
multitude.  The  different  voices  of  the  priests  reading 
or  intoning  their  different  parts — Pilate  speaking  in 
one  voice,  Christ  in  another,  while  the  choir,  break- 
ino-  forth,  fill  the  whole  of  the  vast  church  with?  the 
shout,  '  Crucify  him  !  Crucify  him !'  and  again  with 
the  cry,  '  Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  !'  produce  a  most 
singular  effect.  Accustomed  as  we  are  to  look  upon 
the  Holy  Scriptures  with  reverence,  and  to  read  the 
narrative  of  our  Lord's  sufferings  with  a  profound  feel- 
ing of  awe,  it  has  something  repulsive  to  our  tastes,  if 
not  to  our  judgments,  to  find  a  theatrical  character 
given  to  so  holy  an  exercise." 

Upon  this  evidence,  which  might  be  multiplied  to 
any  extent,  I  rest,  Sir,  my  position,  that  the  ritual  of 
Romanism,  however  splendid,  and  to  some  weak  minds 
attractive,  is  not  the  worship  of  (rod  ;  that,  at  best,  it 
is  only  a  theatrical  representation  of  the  truths  which 
it  purports  to  exhibit.  Every  thing  that  enters  into 
the  public  worship  of  Romanism  is  only  a  continuation 
of  the  tawdry  shows  gotten  up  in  the  Middle  Ages  to 
satisfy  the  longings  of  the  religious  nature  of  man, 
from  whom  a  wicked  priesthood  had  taken  away  the 
Light  of  Life.  And  how  can  we  measure  the  wicked- 
ness of  ecclesiastics  who,  even  amid  the  light  of  our 

a 


146  kirwan's   letters. 

The  poorest  actors  going.  Scene  at  Bonville. 

advanced  civilization,  take  away  the  Bible  from  the 
people,  and  seek  to  supply  the  vast  void  by  theatrical 
forces  like  these  ?  And  is  it  any  wonder  that,  in  Pa- 
pal countries,  the  few  join  the  priest  at  the  acting  of 
the  Mass  on  Sunday  morning  ?  and  that  the  priest  joins 
the  multitude  to  witness  the  acting  of  the  farce  in  the 
theatre  in  the  evening  ?  It  is  at  least  an  evidence  that, 
if  nothing  else  is  left  to  the  people  of  Naples,  they  have 
left  a  little  remaining  taste,  as,  while  the  churches  are 
deserted,  the  theatre  is  crowded.  The  least  interest- 
ing actors  that  are  seeking  for  precedence  in  the  dra- 
matic world  are  lazy  and  lubberly  priests,  and  they  are 
the  least  worthy  of  patronage. 

On  the  19th  of  June  last,  in  company  with  others,  I 
reached  the  little  town  of  Bonville,  within  a  few  miles 
of  Geneva,  on  my  way  to  Chamouni.  Crowds  of  peo- 
ple were  in  the  streets,  and  branches  of  trees  graced 
all  the  doors  and  windows.  It  was  a  fete  day,  but  in 
honor  of  what  saint  I  know  not  ;  probably  the  "  Very 
Rev.  P.  Pt.  Kenrick,  Y.  G\,"  might  inform  us.  I  there 
witnessed  a  scene  such  as  I  had  not  seen  before — quite 
theatrical  in  its  way.  At  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  a  pro- 
cession was  formed  at  the  church  of  the  village.  It  was 
headed  by  women  in  white  robes ;  these  were  followed 
by  children  bearing  baskets  of  rose-leaves ;  these  by 
children  bearing  censers  ;  these  by  priests  ;  these  by  a 
ruby-faced  bishop,  fat  and  stall-fed  as  usual,  bearing 
the  host  under  a  canopy ;  and  the  bishop  by  a  vast  mul- 
titude of  people.  The  day  was  very  hot  and  very  dusty. 
At  certain  signs,  the  whole  mass  of  people  knelt  down, 
and  rose  up,  and  turned  to  the  right  and  left.  At  the 
sound  of  a  little  whistle,  the  children  scattered  leaves 


KIRWAN 


r'  S     LETTERS.  147 


Soldiers.  Host  saluted.  Sabbath  evening  at  Edinburgh. 


for  the  bishop  to  walk  on,  or  incensed  the  priests.  The 
soldiers  were  in  the  streets  in  great  numbers  and  in 
full  uniform.  They  saluted  the  Host  with  volleys  of 
musketry  on  its  approach ;  and  when  the  bishop  stopped, 
as  he  did  several  times,  and  turned  round  the  Host  so 
as  to  face  the  soldiers,  they  all  fell  on  their  knees  in  an 
instant,  save  the  officers,  who  leaned  on  their  swords, 
with  their  faces  to  the  earth.  After  parading  the 
streets  in  this  way  for  some  time,  the  bishop  and  priests 
returned  to  the  church,  and  the  people  and  soldiers 
went  to  drink  and  to  play.  When  the  farce  was  end- 
ed, the  town  was  a  scene  of  revelry.  And  with  such 
mountebank  exhibitions  as  these,  the  Papal  world  is 
full !  And  these  exhibitions  are  what  they  call  wor- 
ship ;  and  a  firm  belief  in  their  efficacy  is  what  priests 
call  faith  in  God  ! 

Now,  Sir,  that  you  may  see,  in  contrast  with  all  this, 
the  true  worship  of  God,  go  with  me  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath evening  I  spent  in  Scotland  to  the  Gaelic  chapel 
in  Edinburgh,  which  is  situated  almost  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Castle.  The  house  was  crowded  in  all 
its  parts.  In  the  hymns  of  praise  the  immense  con- 
gregation united.  Every  worshiper  carried  a  Bible, 
and  turned  to  the  Scripture  read,  and  to  the  text  of 
the  sermon.  When  prayer  was  made,  every  person 
rose  and  took  a  devotional  attitude.  Dr.  Candlish  was 
the  eloquent  preacher  ;  and  for  upward  of  an  hour  did 
the  people  hang  with  breathless  attention  upon  his  lips, 
while  he  expounded  to  them  the  faith  of  Abraham,  and, 
with  words  that  burned,  exhorted  them  to  the  exercise 
of  faith  in  God.  And  when  the  service  was  ended,  the 
multitude  quietly  walked  away,  praying  that  the  word 


148  kirwan's   letters. 


Which  is  divine  worship.  Priest  and  minister. 

of  the  Lord  might  dwell  in  them  richly,  and  that  they 
might  he  sanctified  through  the  truth.  Now,  Sir, 
which  looks  most  like  the  worship  of  God — this  scene 
in  the  (xselic  chapel,  or  the  saying  of  mass  hy  a  priest? 
Which  looks  most  like  Peter  at  the  feast  of  Pentecost, 
or  like  Paul  in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews — the  Scotch 
minister  preaching  the  Gospel,  or  the  Italian  priest 
saying  mass  ?  Which  of  these  teachers  is  best  adapt- 
ed to  our  people  and  our  institutions  ?  Which  is  most 
likely  to  foster  those  principles  that  never  yield  but  to 
the  right — that  will  live  only  for  the  true  ?  Sir,  the 
one  is  a  teacher  of  the  truth,  the  other  is  an  actor  of 
the  truth  dramatized.  Italy  and  Naples  have  only 
Popish  actors — Scotland  and  England  have  religious 
teachers  ;  hence  the  difference  between  their  people ! 
Mexico  and  Peru  have  had  only  religious  actors  for 
their  people — New  England  has  had*  religious  teach- 
ers ;  hence  the  difference  between  them !  The  priest 
seeks  to  bind  you  to  the  Pope  ;  the  minister  seeks  to 
win  you  to  God.  The  priest  hides  the  Bible,  and  seeks 
to  satisfy  you  with  the  mass  and  the  other  ceremonies 
of  the  Church ;  the  minister  puts  the  Bible  into  your 
hands,  and  exhorts  you  to  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less 
than  a  heart  and  life  conformed  to  its  teachings.  The 
priest  damns  you  unless  you  believe  the  Church,  which 
means  the  Pope  and  his  cardinals ;  the  minister  tells 
you  that  "  he  that  belie veth  in  the  Son  hath  life,"  and 
exhorts  you  to  believe  in  God — to  fear  him,  and  then 
to  fear  nothing  else.  Which  are  the  men  ordained  of 
God,  and  best  fitted  to  be  the  moral  instructors  of  our 
great  and  growing  country  ?  Need  I  answer  these 
questions  to  satisfy  a  person  of  your  sense  and  compre- 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  149 


Romish  Churches  Sabbath  theatres. 


hension  ?  Sir,  (rod  is  not  worshiped  in  the  mass.  Ro- 
mish churches  are  Sabbath-day  theatres  for  the  enact- 
ing of  Popish  dramas ;  and  Romish  priests  are  nothing 
more  or  less  than  actors  in  sacred  dramas,  and  most 
of  them  miserable  hands  even  at  that.  Neither  the 
plays  nor  their  actors  are  the  things  for  our  people, 
unless  the  Bible,  with  its  institutions,  and  the  freedom 
which  they  secure,  are  a  curse  ;  and  unless  submission 
to  the  priest  and  the  Pope,  and  the  slavery  which  they 
insure,  are  a  blessing.  From  such  play-actors  and  their 
plays  may  the  good  Lord  deliver  us.  Could  the  proph- 
ets, apostles,  martyrs,  and  saints,  of  all  ages  and  climes, 
hear  us,  we  would  invoke  the  aid  of  them  all  to  save 
our  land  from  the  curse  of  Romanism. 

"With  great  respect,  yours. 


150  kirwan's  letters. 

Tested  by  its  fruits.  W  here  to  be  tested. 


LETTER     XVII. 

Romanism  tested  by  its  Fimits  in  Rome. — No  personal  Liberty  there — 
two  Cases  in  Proof. — No  security  of  Property — two  flagrant  Illustra- 
tions.— No  Religion  there — no  Sabbath — no  Bible — no  Preaching- 
no  worshiping  Congregations — no  serious  Devotion  there. — Is  Popery 
the  best  form  of  Religion  for  our  Country? 

My  dear  Sir, — If  the  work  of  framing  a  government 
for  a  people  were  committed  to  your  hands,  and  if  you 
were  in  doubt  as  to  which  form  would  best  promote 
their  highest  and  truest  interests,  what  plan  would  you 
adopt  to  resolve  your  doubt?  You  would  adopt  the 
common  sense  one,  of  testing  the  various  forms  that 
presented  themselves  by  the  effects  which  they  pro- 
dace,  where  fully  established.  This  would  be  walking 
in  the  light  of  experience.  The  best  fruits  of  Despot- 
ism you  would  seek  in  Russia  and  Austria — of  a  Lim- 
ited Monarchy,  in  England — and  of  a  Constitutional 
Republicanism,  in  the  United  States.  And  as  an  hon- 
est man,  you  would  decide  in  favor  of  that  form  which 
promoted,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  highest  interests 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  So  in  religious  things. 
If  desirous  to  know  the  influence  of  Episcopacy  upon 
a  people,  you  would  go  to  England — or  of  Presbytery, 
you  would  go  to  Scotland — or  of  Independency,  you 
would  go  to  New  England — or  of  Popery,  you  would 
go  to  Rome.  As  trees  are  known  by  their  fruit,  so  are 
political  and  religious  systems  by  their  effects.      By 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  151 

The  Holy  City.  Information  sought  No  liberty. 

this  test,  to  which  none  can  object,  will  you  permit  me 
to  try  Romanism,  that  you  and  all  men  may  see  the 
multiplied  blessings  which  we  may  anticipate  from  its 
full  establishment  in  this  land?  But  where  shall  we 
apply  the  test  ?  Where,  but  in  Rome,  the  seat  of  the 
Pope — the  centre  of  unity — the  paradise  of  the  priest 
— where  the  heresy  of  the  Reformation  has  never  ob- 
tained a  permanent  or  impressive  influence,  and  where, 
for  fifty  ages  together,  Romanism  has  had  the  molding 
of  the  people,  without  let  or  hinderance,  in  her  hands. 
If  Papal  priests  could  have  their  wish  and  their  way, 
they  would,  of  course,  model  America  after  the  pattern 
of  Rome,  which  Cardinal  Wiseman  denominates  the 
"Holy  City."  Now,  Sir,  I  have  been  to  the  "Holy 
City" — I  have  seen  its  Pope,  cardinals,  and  priests — I 
sought  there  information  as  to  its  civil,  social,  and  re- 
ligious state — and  from  personal  examination,  and  from 
testimony  received  from  the  most  credible  witnesses, 
both  natives,  and  foreign  residents,  I  am  prepared  to 
say  that,  from  the  extent  of  its  population,  there  is  not 
a  worse  governed,  less  religious,  or  more  immoral  people 
in  Christendom.  And,  tried  by  its  priests,  where  there 
are  no  obstacles  to  prevent  its  natural  results,  Roman- 
ism should  be  the  abhorrence  of  all  flesh. 

There  is,  Sir,  no  personal  liberty  in  Rome.  Since 
the  return  of  the  Pope  from  Naples  to  the  Vatican,  the 
reins  of  despotism  have  been  tightened  by  a  powerful 
hand.  The  patriots  that  could  escape  have  fled  ;  and 
you  find  them  in  Grenoa,  Turin,  Geneva,  France,  and 
Britain — homeless,  yet  hopeful  exiles — strong  in  faith 
that  the  sun  of  liberty  will  yet  rise,  even  over  Rome. 
The  suspected  are  in  prison  ;  and  the  prisons  are  crowd- 


152  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


S  ios.  How  they  work.  An  instance. 


ed.     Spies,  by  day  and  by  night,  surround  those  who 
show  any  lack  of  confidence  in  the  priests.     While  I 
was  there,  the  plan  was  completed  of  dividing  the  city 
into  small  sections  of  about  twenty  families  each,  and 
of  placing  a  priest  over  each  of  these  sections  ;  nomin- 
ally to  look  after  their  religious  wants,  but  really  to  act 
as  the  spies  of  the  •  government !     And  through  the 
vigilance  of  these  spies,  and  the  information  which  they 
wrino-  from  wives  and  daughters,  and  servant-women 
at  the  confessional,  the  sigh  breathed  after  liberty  by 
the  most  obscure  man  in  its  most  obscure  and  humble 
dwelling  is  reported  "in  a  few  hours  to  the  head  of  the 
police !     And  if  a  R,oman  desires  to  visit  other  coun- 
tries, before  he  can  get  permission,  he  must  first  get  a 
certificate  from  the  magistrate  of  his  district  that  he 
is  a  good  citizen — then  from  the  priest  of  his  section, 
that  he  is  a  good  Papist :  with  these  he  goes  to  the 
head  of  the  police,  and  if  there  is  no  information  lodged 
there  against  him,  he  receives  a  passport.     Take  one 
occurrence  as  an  illustration.     A  young  Roman,  a  few 
years  since,  went  to  Sardinia,  where  he  married.    Busi- 
ness failed  him,  and  he  returned  to  Rome  to  seek  em- 
ployment, leaving  his  wife  and  children  behind  him. 
He  entered  the  employment  of  a  person  who,  in  the 
Revolution,  took  part  against  the  government.     Within 
the  present  year,  that  man  wished  to  return  to  his  fam- 
ily, and  with  the  certificate  of  the  magistrate  of  his 
district,  and  of  the  priest  of  his  section,  he  presented 
himself  to  the  head  of  the  police,  who,  I  learned,  is  a 
priest.     And  simply  because  he  was  recorded  as  hav- 
ing been  in  the  employment  of  an  enemy  of  the  old 
government,  instead  of  getting  his  passport  he  was  or- 


K  I  R  W  A  N 


'S    LETTERS.  153 


Tobacco  monopoly.  Peter  Ercolo. 

dered  to  prison  ;  and  where  imprisoned  none  know  but 
God  and  the  priests  ! 

Take  another  instance  and  illustration  of  the  glorious 
liberty  with  which  Romanism  would  bless  us !     The 
government  holds  a  monopoly  in  tobacco,  and  this  mo- 
nopoly it  farms  out  to  the  highest  bidder.     The  more 
tobacco  used,  the  greater  the  duties  accruing,  and  the 
higher  the  Church  can  sell  the  monopoly.     Of  course, 
the  more  the  Romans  chew,  smoke,  and  snuff  of  the 
vile  weed,  the  greater  will  be  the  profits  of  the  Church. 
Knowing  this,  and  to  curtail  the  revenues  of  the  priests, 
those  who  bear  no  fervent  love  to  them  agreed  to  re- 
frain from  its  use,  and  to  induce  their  friends  to  do  the 
same.     One  evening  Peter  Ercolo  met  his  friend  Luigi 
G-euanini  in  a  coffee-room,  smoking  a  cigar,  and  per- 
suaded him  to  smoke  no  more.     There  were  several 
by-standers  ;  soon  Ercolo  was  arrested — was  tried  be- 
fore the  Second  Tribunal,  and  found  guilty  of  the  crime 
of  persuading  his  friend  to  consume  no  more  cigars ; 
and  for  this  crime  a  respectable  man,  between  thirty 
and  forty  years  of  age,  was  torn  from  his  family,  and 
sentenced  for  twenty  years  to  the  galleys  !     And  I  read 
the  sentence  as  placarded  on  the  chief  corners  of  the 
city  of  Rome,  and  as  signed  by  Cardinal  Antonelli ! 
Such,  Sir,  is  the  civil  liberty  enjoyed  by  the  dwellers 
in  the  "  Holy  City,"  amid  the  relics  of  the  martyrs,  and 
under  the  direct  government  of  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  infallible  head  of  the  only  true  Church  !    And 
this  is  the  liberty  with  which  Romish  priests,  were  it 
in  their  power,  would  bless  our  country !     It  is  from 
those  Roman  tyrants  that  our  priests  get  their  author- 
ity— it  is  to  them  they  yield  their  conscience,  and  swear 

G2 


154  KIR  WAN's    LETTERS. 


Patriots  questioned.  Property  insecure.  An  instance. 

perpetual  allegiance.  Are  they  the  men  for  our  people  ? 
Ask  the  patriots  in  exile — ask  the  patriots  rotting  in 
the  prisons  of  the  "  Holy  City" — ask  Ercolo,  tugging  at 
the  galleys  for  persuading  his  friend  to  cast  away  the 
end  of  a  wasted  cigar,  are  the  spies  and  tools  of  Italian 
priests  the  men  for  our  country  ? 

Nor,  Sir,  is  there  any  security  for  property  in  Rome. 
It  is  constantly  confiscated,  on  the  merest  pretexts,  to 
the  Church ;  and  when  not  confiscated,  it  is  alienated 
to  the  "  Holy  See"  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.     Two 
instances,  in  proof  of  this,  were  narrated  to  me  there, 
and  by  a  man  of  high  position.     A  Roman  of  wealth 
married  a  lady  of  foreign  birth,  and  by  whom  he  had 
a  large  family  of  children.     After  a  life  of  love  and  har- 
mony, he  died,  leaving  his  property  to  his  widow  and 
children,  by  a  will  duly  authenticated.     Although  re- 
gardless of  the  priests  in  health,  he  sent  for  one  when 
dying — who   confessed  him,   and   anointed  him,  and 
"  fixed  him  off"  for  Purgatory  or  Paradise.    A  few  days 
after  his  death,  that  priest  swore  before  the  tribunal 
having  jurisdiction  in  such  cases,  that  the  dying  man 
confessed  to  him  a  great  sin,  and  to  atone  for  which  he 
wished  his  entire  property,  contrary  to  his  will,  to  go 
to  the  Church.     And,  on  the  oath  of  that  priest,  the 
will  of  the  deceased  was  set  aside — his  property  was 
turned  into  the  treasury  of  the  Church,  and  his  widow 
and  children  were  turned  out  penniless  on  the  world  ! 
Thus  nothing  is  necessary  to  deprive  any  family  in 
Rome  that  has  lost  its  head,  of  its  property,  but  the  oath 
of  a  priest !     And  if  you  had  seen  them  in  crowds,  as 
I  have,  you  would  conclude,  as  I  have,  that  it  would 
be  an  easy  matter  to  get  a  priest  in  Rome  that  would 


KIRWAN 


I*S     LETTERS.  155 


The  illecHl  son.  Shameless  mother.  No  religion. 


swear  any  thing.     Absolution  from  perjury  that  en- 
riches the  Church  is  easily  secured. 

The  other  instance  is  as  follows.     It  would  seem  as 
if  there  is  a  law  in  Rome  which  gives  all  property  to 
the  Church  which  has  no  lawful  heir.     An  old  man, 
of  large  possessions,  married  a  young  and  handsome 
lady,  and  died,  leaving  a  son  behind  him,  the  heir  of 
his  possessions.     Just  on  the  eve  of  his  majority,  not 
many  months  ago,  a  suit  was  instituted  to  prevent  his 
entering  on  his  paternal  possessions,  on  the  ground  of 
his  illegitimacy.     And  the  Church  gained  the  suit — 
the  mother  of  the  boy  testifying  to  her  own  shame,  and 
confessing  that  the  father  of  her  child  was  a  shaven- 
pated,  crimson-capped  cardinal !     "  And  this,"  said  my 
informant,  as  we  turned  out  of  the  Corso,  "  is  the  pal- 
ace in  which  the  old  man  died,  and  of  which  his  widow 
and  repudiated  child  have  just  been  deprived."     And 
when  men  lose  not  their  property  by  confiscation,  or  by 
the  robbery  of  ecclesiastical  courts,  they  are  ground 
down  into  poverty  by  an  enormous  taxation  for  the 
support  of  a  Church  which  only  compensates  them 
with  swarms  of  monks  and  nuns,  splendid  churches, 
lying  legends,  gorgeous  processions,  French  soldiers, 
and  spies  to  dog  them  by  day  and  by  night.     And  are 
these  priests  the  men  for  our  country  ?     Ask  that  wid- 
ow and  her  orphans  deprived  of  her  property  by  the 
oath  of  a  confessor — ask  those  groaning  under  the  yoke 
of  a  government  the  most'  detestable  that  the  earth 
knows,  wdiether  these  are  the  men  for  our  country ! 
They  will  soon  tell  you. 

Nor,  Sir,  is  there  any  religion  in  Home.     I  do  not 
mean  to  say  that,  among  its  thousands  of  ecclesiastics, 


156  kirwan's   letters. 

No  Sabbath.  Monks  at  market.  No  Bible. 

there  are  none  that  love  God,  nor  do  I  mean  to  say 
that  the  Lord  has  no  chosen  ones  hidden  amid  the  chaff 
and  the  trash  that  are  every  where  visible  there  ;  but 
I  do  mean  to  say,  and  to  affirm  as  strongly  as  language 
can  do  it,  that  among  the  masses  of  the  priests  and 
people  there  is  no  fear  of  God,  and  no  knowledge  of  the 
doctrines  of  our  religion.  And  how  could  there  be,  in 
the  absence  of  the  means  instituted  by  heaven  to  sus- 
tain and  to  extend  religion  among  a  people? 

There  is  no  Sabbath  in  Rome.  The  only  apparent 
difference  there  between  the  Sabbath  and  other  days 
of  the  week  is,  that  the  shops  are  more  gayly  dressed 
— the  markets  are  more  full — and  more  people  are 
engaged  in  buying  and  selling.  On  my  way  to  St. 
Peter's  from  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre,  I  saw  monks  and 
priests  in  all  the  shops  and  markets,  buying,  as  on  oth- 
er days,  and  chattering  like  magpies.  In  Naples  the 
shops  are  closed,  and  all  business  suspended  on  feast- 
days,  but  on  the  Sabbath  all  business  is  brisker  than 
usual.     Romanism  knows  no  Sabbath. 

There  is  no  Bible  in  Rome.  I  made  many  inquiries 
there  for  a  Bible,  but  without  success.  The  people 
have  no  Bible.  They  know  nothing  about  it.  An  in- 
telligent man  of  fifty  told  me  that  he  never  saw  one. 
Multitudes  of  the  priests  know  nothing  about  it.  And 
when  asked  why  they  have  none  for  sale,  the  booksel- 
lers will  tell  you  that  it  is  prohibited.  Captain  Pack- 
enham,  once  a  banker  in  the  city,  and  a  most  respect- 
able gentleman  and  devout  Christian,  is  now  in  banish- 
ment for  circulating  the  Scriptures  there  during  the 
short  existence  of  the  Republic.  Much  of  true  religion 
consists  in  knowing  God  and  Jesus  Christ ;  and  how 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  157 

No  preacbing.  No  congregations.  Exceptic  ns. 

can  they  be  known  by  a  people  from  whom  the  Bible 
is  excluded  ? 

There  is  no  preaching  in  Rome.  Now  and  then,  a 
foreign  priest  or  ecclesiastic  visiting  there,  in  search  of 
a  pallium,  or  of  a  cardinal's  hat,  may  get  up  a  brief 
course  of  lectures  for  the  edification  of  the  strangers  win- 
tering there  ;  but  these  are  usually  vain  and  ambitious 
men,  who  seek  in  this  way  to  gain  favor  at  court,  and 
to  promote  their  self-interests.  There  is  no  preaching 
to  the  Italians  ;  and  when  there  is  an  occasional  ex- 
ception to  the  rule,  it  is  not  the  Grospel  that  is  preached : 
it  is  either  a  eulogy  upon  some  Popish  saint,  or  a  ve- 
hement harangue  against  the  Reformation  and  Protest- 
ants. Popery  treats  as  a  nullity  the  ascending  com- 
mand of  the  Savior,  "  Gro  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Grospel  to  every  creature."  This  one  crime, 
Sir,  is  enough  to  subject  it  to  the  curse  of  "Anathema 
Maranatha." 

There  are  no  worshiping  congregations  at  Rome  or- 
dinarily. Crowds  attend  the  high  ceremonies  of  "  Holy 
Week  ;"  on  great  occasions,  when  there  are  gorgeous 
processions,  at  which  the  Pope  and  the  military  attend, 
multitudes  are  drawn  together  by  curiosity ;  but,  on 
ordinary  occasions,  there  are  no  congregations  to  wit- 
ness the  ceremonies  in  the  churches.  In  this  I  was 
greatly  disappointed.  The  only  exceptions  I  witnessed 
were  at  St.  Carlo,  in  the  Corso,  and  around  the  image 
of  Mary,  in  St.  Augustin,  as  already  narrated.  On  Sab- 
bath day,  and  on  every  day  of  the  week,  I  was  at  the 
great  basilicas  and  churches,  and  very  often  myself  and 
company  were  the  whole  congregation !  I  witnessed 
the  mass  in  St.  Peter's,  St.  John  Lateran,  St.  Mary  Mag- 


158  kirwan's   letters. 

Last  Sabbath  morning.  Scenes  at  St.  Peter's. 

giore,  performed  by  a  bishop  and  many  priests,  when  not 
a  soul  was  present  to  form  a  congregation  hut  my  own 
little  company.  My  last  Sabbath  morning  there  was 
spent  between  the  Sistine  Chapel  and  St.  Peter's  ;  and 
while  mass  was  going  on  at  several  altars  in  the  church, 
it  would  be  a  liberal  calculation  to  say  that  there  was 
an  average  of  five  persons  at  each  altar.  This  was  in 
the  morning  ;  the  masses  and  vespers  of  the  afternoon 
are  literally  deserted,  unless  where  singing  is  expected. 
Indeed,  where  there  is  any  religion  at  all  among  the 
people,  it  is  usually  of  a  vicarious  character.  The 
faithful  leave  the  care  of  their  souls  to  the  priests  ;  as 
a  man  sometimes  commits  his  business  to  an  agent, 
with  powers  of  attorney  to  act  for  him.  And  they 
think,  and  truly,  that  the  masses  offered  at  the  altars 
will  be  as  efficacious  in  their  absence  as  if  they  were 
present.  Hence  there  is  often  a  crowd  of  priests  en- 
gaged in  a  ceremony  without  a  soul  to  witness  it.  And 
what  struck  me  as  more  singular  still,  was  to  see  priests 
in  St.  Peter's  on  Sabbath  day  entering  the  beautiful 
chapels  during  the  ceremony  of  the  mass  at  their  al- 
tars with  guide-books  in  their  hands,  and  criticizing 
the  works  of  art  by  which  they  are  adorned  !  Could 
they  do  so  if  they  believed  that  a  brother  priest  was 
creating  Grod  before  them  ? 

And  I  was  amazed  at  the  manner  in  which  those 
who  attended  performed  their  devotions.  Two  girls 
will  enter,  and  kneel  together,  and  cross  themselves  ; 
and  it  is  truly  ludicrous  to  see  them  alternately  pray- 
ing, and  talking,  and  laughing.  Persons  upon  their 
knees,  and  their  lips  moving  very  rapidly,  repeating 
their  prayers,  have  often  eyed  me  from  head  to  foot, 


KIRWAN 


'S    LETTERS.  159 


Spanish  officer.  No  religion.  Solemn  question. 

and  gazed  on  me  as  I  went  around  the  church.  Every- 
thing I  saw  among  priests  and  people  was  chillingly 
heartless,  save  in  an  old  Spanish  officer,  who  daily  vis- 
ited St.  Peter's,  dressed  in  half  uniform,  with  his  sword 
dangling  behind  him.  I  saw  him  a  few  times  on  his 
knees,  and  he  seemed  really  to  pray,  and  to  heat  his 
breast  with  his  hand,  as  if  he  felt  the  weight  of  some 
awful  sins  pressing  upon  his  soul.  I  felt  an  anxiety 
to  say  to  him  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanses  from  all 
sin. 

Now,  Sir,  in  the  absence  of  the  Sabbath — in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  Bible — in  the  absence  of  the  preaching  of 
the  G-ospel — in  the  absence  of  congregations  even  from 
the  ceremonies  with  which  the  priests  seek  to  fill  up 
the  void  left  by  the  prohibition  of  the  Word  of  God,  how 
could  there  be  any  religion  in  Rome  ?  God  has  de- 
vised means  to  ends  ;  and  when  the  means  are  not 
used,  the  ends  are  not  attained.  Sir,  there  is  no  reli- 
gion in  Rome.  There  is  there  blind  superstition — 
there  is  Jesuit  cunning — there  is  solemn  pomp  and 
ceremonial  observances — btrt  there  is  no  religion.  Nor 
is  there,  as  a  rule,  in  any  country  where  Popery  ob- 
tains among  the  masses. 

Is  Popery,  then,  the  form  of  religion  best  adapted  to 
our  country  ?  The  foundations  and  bulwarks  of  our 
institutions,  are  the  intelligence,  the  religion,  the  morals 
of  our  people  ;  can  these  remain  to  sustain  and  to  de- 
fend our  institutions  if  Popery  becomes  the  religion  of 
our  people  ?     Let  the  past  answer. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


160  kirwan's  letters. 

"      '  '  —   --  —  i-  .  -       -  _»■_    .  ...  .      ■..       ..I,...  — — 1     ■  ■        ■-!!■  P 

How  could  religion  get  into  Rome.  Idolatry, 


LETTER   XVIII. 

Fruits  of  Romanism. — Idolatry  in  Rome. — A  Prodigy. — Pictures  of  Mary 
— her  Names  and  Worship. — Immorality  of  Rome. — Scene  at  Naples. 
— Key  to  priestly  Profligacy. — Experience  of  Luther. — Mass  for  the 
Soul  of  Gregory  XVI. — Vespers  in  the  Sistine.  —  Cardinals — their 
Character. — Feelings  of  the  Romans  toward  the  Priests. — A  Chat  at 
Civita  Vecchia. — Romanism  detested  at  Rome. 

My  dear  Sir, — In  my  last  letter  I  commenced  the 
work  of  testing  Romanism  by  its  fruits  at  home,  that 
you  and  all  men  might  see  whether  its  propagation 
should  he  encouraged  among  the  nations  and  people 
yet  beyond  the  circle  of  its  influence.  I  have  shown 
you  that  in  Rome,  where  the  system  culminates,  where 
it  has  every  thing  in  its  own  hands,  there  is  no  personal 
liberty — no  security  of  property — no  religion.  There 
is  in  Rome  no  Sabbath — no  Bible — no  preaching  of  the 
Grospel — no  worshiping  congregations — no  serious  de- 
votions ;  and  how  can  religion  exist  in  the  absence  of 
these  ?  But  I  am  not  yet  through  with  the  fruits  of 
Romanism  at  home.  There  are  a  few  other  statements 
I  wish  to  place  before  you. 

There  is,  Sir,  the  most  gross  idolatry  in  Rome.  On 
this  point  I  need  not  dwell,  after  what  I  have  said  al- 
ready about  the  Bambino  of  Ara  Coeli,  the  Virgin  of 
St.  Augustin's,  and  the  relics  which  are  to  be  found 
every  where.  You  meet  there,  wherever  you  go.  mi- 
raculous pictures,  and  wonder-working  relics,  and  stat- 
ues that  came  down  from  heaven,  and  places  rendered 


kirwan's   letters.  161 


Images  worshiped.  Snow  in  summer.  Pictures  of  Mary. 

sacred  by  prodigies  ;  and  before  these  pictures,  relics, 
and  images,  you  see  poor  people  bowing  down  with  as 
profound  a  homage  as  ever  the  Hindoos  render  to  their 
idols.  The  priests  may  disguise  or  excuse  this  as  they 
may;  it  is,  after  all,  no  less  than  idolatry.  "You  are 
here  on  holy  ground,"  said  our  guide,  when  walking 
through  and  round  the  church  of  St.  Maria  Maggiore. 
"What  makes  it  holy,"  I  asked.  "Because,"  said  he, 
"G-od  showed  where  the  church  should  be  built  by 
covering  its  site  two  feet  deep  with  snow  in  summer  !" 
And  this  he  said  with  a  stolid  gravity  which  would 
make  it  a  sin  to  suspect  him  of  quizzing.  I  turned  to 
my  "  Guide  of  Rome"  to  see  if  there  was  any  allusion 
to  this  prodigy,  where,  to  my  amazement,  I  read  the 
following  passage  :  "  This  church  was  built  in  the  year 
352,  under  the  pontificate  of  St.  Liberius,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  vision  that  he  and  John  the  Patrician  had 
the  same  night,  and  which  was  confirmed  the  follow- 
ing morning,  the  5th  of  August,  by  a  miraculous  fall 
of  snow,  which  extended  over  the  space  which  the 
church  was  to  occupy :  for  this  reason  it  was  called  St. 
Maria  ad  Mves."  And  you  can  scarcely  turn  a  corner 
without  meeting  with  a  place  which  has  some  sacred 
and  prodigious  history  like  this.  May  not  this  be  the 
reason  why  it  is  called  the  "Holy  City."  For  similar 
reasons,  Mecca  and  Medina  are  "holy  cities." 

The  pictures  and  statues  that  most  abound,  and  to 
which  most  resort  in  prayer  and  prostration,  are  those 
of  the  Virgin  Mary.  Indeed,  what  the  Prophet  is  to 
Mohammedanism,  the  Virgin  is  to  Romanism.  To  her 
are  given  names  which  belong  only  to  G-od.  She  is 
called  "Mother  of  God" —  "Advocate  of  Sinners"  — 


162  kirwan's  letters. 

Names  and  honors.  Lyons  saved.  Rome  immoral. 


"  Refuge   of  Sinners"  —  "  Gate   of  Heaven"  —  ". Most 
Faithful"— "Most  Merciful."     And  in  the  Psalter  of 
David,  as  reformed  by  Bonaventura,  we  find  this  sen- 
tence :   "Come  unto  Mary,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and 
heavy  laden,  and  she  shall  refresh  your  souls."     Church- 
es are  built  to  her  honor — her  shrines  are  crowded  with 
devotees,  and   are  hung  with  votive  offerings.      Her 
name  is  the  first  which  the  infant  is  taught  to  lisp, 
and  the  dying  are  directed  to  look  to  her  for  mercy. 
The  soldier  goes  to  battle  under  her  banner,  and  the 
brigand  plunders  under  her  protection.     In  Italy  and 
Spain,  robbers  wear  a  picture  of  Mary  hung  round  their 
neck  by  a  ribbon.     If  overtaken  suddenly  by  death, 
they  kiss  the  image,  and  die  in  peace.      And  while 
apostles,  martyrs,  saints,  and  relics  are  not  forgotten, 
Mary  is  the  divinity  of  Romanism.     The  city  of  Lyons 
erected  a  pillar  to  Mary  for  saving  it  from  the  cholera 
of  1832.     When  Pio  Nino  fled  from  Rome,  he  threat- 
ened the  city  with  the  vengeance  of  Mary :  finding  her 
rather  tardy  in  her  movements,  he  prayed  France  for 
aid,  which,  being  more  propitious  than  Mary,  sent  him 
forty  thousand  bayonets  !     "Why,  Sir,  while  Mary  is  in 
the  mouth  of  every  body,  the  common  people  do  not 
know  enough  about  Jesus  Christ   even  to  swear  by 
him.     Mary  is  to  the  Romans  what  Diana  was  to  the 
Ephesians.     Rome,  as  a  city,  is  given  to  idolatry. 

Rome  is,  emphatically,  an  immoral  city — probably 
the  most  so  in  Christendom  ;  and  that  notwithstand- 
ing it  has  an  ecclesiastic  of  some  kind  for  every  thirty 
inhabitants !  There  are  some  statements  which  I  blush 
to  make  on  this  head,  and  which  I  only  make  out  of 
an  imperative  sense  of  duty.     I  wish  every  American 


kirwan's   letters.  163 

Gambling  priests.  Theatre  at  Naples.  A  key. 

citizen  to  know  the  blessings  to  be  expected  from  Ro- 
manism when  the  system  is  fully  established  and  de- 
veloped among  us. 

In  the  broad  street  opposite  the  post-office,  in  Na- 
ples, I  saw  a  priest  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  at  a 
gambling  table  !  The  sight  astounded  me,  as  I  then 
witnessed  it  for  the  first  time ;  but  my  guide  soon  put 
me  to  rest  by  stating  that  the  priests  were  among  the 
most  expert  and  successful  gamblers  in  the  city  !  The 
theatre  of  St.  Carlo,  in  Naples,  was  opened  on  the  king's 
birth-day.  Without  entering  it,  I  went  with  my  trav- 
eling friend  and  our  valet  to  the  porch,  to  see  the  Ne- 
apolitans in  their  gay  attire,  and  to  have  a  glimpse  of 
the  royal  family.  Of  the  men  that  went  to  the  ballet, 
for  such  it  was,  the  largest  number  were  soldiers,  the 
next  largest  were  priests.  There  is  no  mistaking  a 
priest  in  Italy.  He  is  known  by  his  regimentals  ;  and, 
if  naked,  his  shaven  crown  would  reveal  him.  I  was 
again  astonished  !  Soon,  however,  familiarity  dimin- 
ished my  wonder  ;  and  when,  on  a  more  full  informa- 
tion, I  saw  that  the  only  relation  of  the  priest  to  re- 
ligion was  that  of  a  formal  and  official  kind,  like  that 
of  a  magistrate  to  the  laws,  I  also  saw  that  there  was 
nothing  to  bind  him  to  a  moral  life,  or  to  submission 
to  the  moral  law,  bevond  that  which  binds  a  civil  mnjr- 
istrate.  This  is  the  key  to  much  of  the  priestly  profli- 
gacy to  be  found  in  Papal  countries.  Boys  are  devoted 
to  the  priesthood  from  youth — they  are  brought  up  for 
it — the  doctrine  of  moral  fitness  is  unheard  of.  They 
enter  it  under  but  one  restriction — not  to  marrv  :  but 
they  may  do  any  thing  else.  As  some  magistrates 
are  excellent  men,  so  are  some  priests  ;  but  the  priest 


164  kirwan's   letters. 


Luther's  experience.  Masses  for  the  Pope.  Why? 

can  do  with  impunity  any  thing  which  a  magistrate 

can. 

It  was  the  experience  of  Luther,  that  the  nearer  he 
got  to  Rome,  the  more  wicked  were  the  priests  and 
people.  And  writing  from  there  a  few  days  after  he 
entered  it,  and  while  saying  mass  at  its  altars,  he  said, 
"It  is  incredible  what  sins  and  atrocities  are  commit- 
te4  here  ;  they  must  be  seen  and  heard  to  be  believed ; 
it  is  usual  to  say  here,  'If  there  be  a  hell,  Rome  is 
built  above  it ;'  it  is  an  abyss  from  which  all  sins  pro- 
ceed." And  although  centuries  have  passed  away  since 
the  noble  Saxon  penned  these  lines,  I  am  persuaded 
that  they  give,  so  far  forth,  a  true  picture  of  Rome  at 
the  present  hour. 

You,  Sir,  will  remember,  that  on  the  death  of  the 
late  Pope  Gregory,  masses  were  ordered  for  the  repose 
of  his  soul  all  over  the  Papal  world.  In  many  places, 
and,  no  doubt,  in  the  cathedral  of  your  city,  these 
masses  were  celebrated  with  great  pomp.  The  order- 
ing of  these  masses  gave  rise  to  many  questions  among 
Protestants ;  I  confess  it  staggered  myself.  The  repose 
of  the  soul  of  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ !  of  the  holy 
Pope  Gregory  !  What  should  disturb  the  repose  of  his 
soul  ?  What  did  he  do  to  disquiet  his  spirit  after  it 
shot  the  gulf  which  divides  time  from  eternity  ?  "If 
you  take  five  minutes'  walk,"  said  a  friend  of  mine, 
long  a  resident  of  Rome,  to  me  one  day,  "I  will  in- 
troduce you  to  two  fine  young  girls,  the  daughters  of 
the  late  Pope  !"  I  then  fully  understood  why  masses 
were  ordered  for  the  repose  of  his  soul !  Perhaps  you 
may  not  know,  Sir,  that  it  is  quite  a  common  occur- 
rence for  the  Popes  to  leave  behind  them  many  "neph- 


KIR  WAN 


'S     LETTERS.  165 


Pope's  children.  Ceremony  in  the  Sistine.  Secretary  of  State. 

ews"  and  "  nieces,"  the  names  by  which  their  illegiti- 
mate offspring  are  designated.  But  so  it  is.  Their 
progeny  is  not  counted  by  units.  And  the  example 
set  by  pontiffs,  the  cardinals,  and  priests,  are  not  slow 

to  copy. 

I  went  one  day  to  the  Sistine  Chapel  to  vespers, 
when  the  Pope  and  nearly  twenty  cardinals  were  pres- 
ent.    He  who  has  once  seen  there  the  entrance  of  the 
cardinals,  each  with  his  servant  untwisting  his  robe — 
their  kneeling  before  the  altar,  and  their  servants  ad- 
justing  their  robes -while  kneeling — their  bowing  to  the 
altar  and  to  one  another — their  taking  their  seats  with 
their  servants  at  their  feet,  and  assuming  a  most  de- 
votional look — their  leaving  their  seats  to  salute  the 
Pope,  with  their  scarlet  robes  trailing  behind  them,  can 
never  forget  the  sight !     0,  Sir,  how  every  idea  of  the 
infallibility  of  these  persons  passes  away,  like  the  hoar 
frost  before  the  sun,  on  witnessing  the  silly  ceremonies 
they  practice  in  the  Sistine  !     If  you  should  see  twenty 
children  going  through  these  ceremonies,  you  would 
conjecture  that  they  were  keeping  holiday  on  the  1st 
of  April.     I  sought  to  read  the  cardinals,  and  I  think 
I  did  read  some  of  them.     "Who,"  said  I,  "is  that 
youngish  man,  with  that  dark,  penetrating,  cold-look- 
ing eye?"     "That,"  said  my  guide,  "is  the  Cardinal 
Secretary  of  State."     I  need  not  name  him  here.     He 
heads  the  horrible  clique,  in  whose  hands  the  present 
Pope  is  but  a  puppet,  and  will  be  probably  his  success- 
or.     Now  and  then  these  men  in  scarlet  turned  up 
their  eyes,  and  moved  their  lips  quite  fast,  and  put  up 
their  hands  after  the  manner  of  little  Samuel  in  the 
picture;   but   all  was   obviously  to  be   seen  of  men. 


•     " 


166  kirwan's  letters. 


Character  of  cardinals.  Of  the  Pope.  No  confidence. 


"What,"  said  I  to   a  friend,  who  knows  them  well, 
"what  is  the  moral  character  of  these   cardinals?" 
His  reply  astounded  me.     "It  is  to  me  amazing,"  said 
he,  "that  some  of  these  men  can  keep  up  even  the 
form  of  devotion  in  the  presence  of  one  another,  when 
each  knows  that  the  other  keeps  three,  four,  or  five 
mistresses.     Some  of  them  are  the  greatest  debauchees 
in  Rome  ;  they  go,  Sir,  from  the  bed  to  the  altar,  and 
from  the  altar  to  the  bed.     I  know  what  I  say.     I  have 
mixed  and  mingled  with  these  persons.     I  have  heard 
wicked  and  loose  young  men  talk  in  my  day  ;  but  the 
most  loose  and  lewd  conversation  I  ever  heard  in  my 
life  was  from  these  men."     "And  is  this  the  general 
character  of  priesthood  here?"  said  I.      "I   am  per- 
suaded it  is,"  said  he,  "  except  the  Pope,  who  is  a  pure- 
minded  man,  and  who  would  do  better,  and  make  oth- 
ers do  better,  if  he  could."     He  then  went  on  to  state 
that  the  priests  are  the  corrupters  of  the  people,  and 
mainly  through  the  confessional  and  the  women.     ' '  No- 
ble Romans,"  said  he,  "have  told  me,  with  tears,  that 
because  of  the  lewdness  of  these  priests,  and  their  way 
of  ferreting  out  every  thing  at  the  confessional,  they 
have  lost  confidence  in  the  virtue  of  their  wives,  their 
mothers,  their  sisters,  and  their  daughters.     Domestic 
love  and  confidence,  as  a  rule,  are  unknown  in  Rome." 
So  emphatic  and  terrific  was  the  testimony  of  this 
person,  that  I  went  away,  feeling  that  something  had 
chafed  his  temper,  and  that  he  condemned  all  for  the 
known  vices  of  a  few  ;  and  it  was  not  until  I  heard  his 
testimony  corroborated  from  all  the  sources  at  which  I 
sought  information  that  I  could  admit  it  to  be  true. 
Like  sin  and  death,  confession  and  seduction  follow 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  167 

Chat  at  Civita  Vecchia.  An  excited  Italian. 

each  other  in  Rome.     The  crimes  are  there  rife  that 
brought  from  heaven  a  rain  of  fire  on  Sodom. 

While  sitting  in  the  veranda  of  the  hotel  in  Civita 
Vecchia,  waiting  for  the  steamer  from  Naples  to  car- 
ry us  to  Genoa,  I  got  into  conversation  with  a  most 
intelligent  Italian,  who  spoke  English  with  fluency. 
"Why,"  said  I,  "do  you  not  drive  out  these  French 
soldiers?"  as  a  parcel  of  them  marched  along  to  the 
tap  of  a  drum.  He  replied,  "  We  are  not  strong  enough 
to  drive  out  the  rascals.  But  if  Louis  Napoleon  is  not 
elected — if  a  true  republic  is  set  up  in  France,  that  will 
recall  these  men,  then  we  will  have  freedom."  "You 
have  priests  here,  too,"  said  I,  as  half  a  dozen  of  them 
were  tripping  along  beneath  us.  "Plenty,"  said  he, 
with  excited  emphasis,  and  gritting  his  teeth.  "  What 
good  do  they  do  you  ?"  I  asked.  "  Much  good,"  he  re- 
plied, with  a  scornful  toss  of  the  head  ;  "they  eat  up 
a  man's  own  property — they  suck  his  own  blood  out  of 
him — and  they  go  with  his  own  wife."  And  this,  as 
far  as  I  heard  it,  is  the  unbroken  testimony  of  Italy 
as  to  the  priest ;  with  one  exception,  and  that  was  an 
American  doing  business  in  Rome,  and  he  only  as- 
serted that  the  above  statements  are  too  strong,  and 
that  things  are  better  than  they  have  been.  "If  we 
can  only  get  these  French  away,"  said  my  friend  in 
the  veranda,  "we  will  show  you  Americans  what  we 
will  do."  "And  what  will  you  do?"  said  I.  He  re- 
plied, in  a  most  energetic  under  tone,  "we  will  estab- 
lish an  Italian  republic,  and  the  first  thing  we  will  do 
will  be  to  kill  off  these  d — d  priests,  for  they  are  the 
enemies  of  the  people,  and  the  spies  of  despotism." 
The  next  revolution  in  Italy  will  be  a  terrible  one  for 


168  KIR  WAN's     LETTERS. 


Terrible  retribution.  Morality  of  the  people. 

the  priests.  The  people  have  a  terrible  retribution  in 
store  for  them,  and  they  know  it.  And  hence  the 
tightening  of  the  chains  of  despotism,  from  the  lines 
of  Sardinia  down  to  the  Straits  of  Messina,  and  the 
stealthy  meetings  between  the  Pope  and  his  most  faith- 
ful friend,  the  King  of  Naples,  the  most  cold-hearted 
and  villainous  despot  upon  earth,  for  mutual  support, 
when  the  sleeping  fires  burst  forth.  And  burst  forth 
they  will. 

If  the  morals  of  the  clergy  in  Rome  are  such  as  we 
have  described,  what  must  be  the  morals  of  the  people  ? 
Depraved  and  low,  according  to  all  testimony,  to  the 
last  degree.  As  by  common  consent,  the  marriage  vows 
are  disregarded ;  and  while  externally  every  thing 
seems  moral  and  decent,  yet  underneath  there  ^s  little 
else  than  rottenness  and  putrefaction.  I  repeat  it,  Sir, 
there  is  no  morality  in  Rome.  Instead  of  being  a 
"holy  city,"  it  is  a  fermenting  vat  of  corruption,  and 
the  priests  supply  the  chief  ingredients  which  produce 
the  fermentation.  A  venerable  professor  of  one  of  our 
American  universities,  with  whom  I  traveled  on  the 
Mediterranean,  stated  that,  but  a  few  days  previous  to 
my  meeting  with  him,  a  priest  was  taken  up  in  Jordina, 
in  Sicily,  for  having  eight  women  in  his  harem,  three 
of  whom  were  married  persons ! 

Of  course,  a  state  of  morals  like  this  among  the 
priests,  when  connected  with  a  grinding  despotism, 
framed  and  executed  mainly  by  them,  must  make 
them  and  their  religion  despicable  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  And  they  are  so,  as  is  obvious  from  the  de- 
serted churches  that  you  find  every  where,  and  from 
the  unanimous  expressions  of  their  sentiments  by  the 


kirwan's   letters.  169     # 


Romanism  detested  in  Rome.  A  wonder.  Who  wants  Rome's  morals? 


people  whenever  they  can  whisper  them.  There  is, 
Sir,  not  a  spot  on  earth  where  Romanism  is  more  de- 
tested than  in  Rome — there  is  not  a  spot  on  earth 
where  the  Pope  and  his  priests  are  more  supremely 
contemned.  If  the  people  of  Rome  could  only  have 
their  way,  the  Pope  would  be  -to-morrow  in  exile — his 
priests  would  be  in  the  dungeons  where  patriots  are 
now  rotting ;  and  the  fabled  chair  of  St.  Peter  would 
be  at  the  bottom  of  the  muddy  Tiber,  or  ascending 
to  heaven  in  smoke.  And  it  is  one  of  the  most  unac- 
countable anomalies  of  the  day  to  see  men  so  despised 
at  home  so  favorably  regarded  abroad — to  see  men  who 
can  only  retain  their  places  at  home  by  the  aid  of  Swiss 
and  French  soldiery,  claiming  a  universal  dominion 
over  the  people  and  nations  of  Christendom,  and  par- 
celing out  kingdoms  among  their  spies  and  tools  for 
Papal  purposes. 

Is  it,  Sir,  desirable  to  have  the  morals  of  Rome  trans- 
ferred to  New  York  and  Baltimore  ?  If  not,  is  it  de- 
sirable that  the  priests,  and  the  system  which  produce 
these  morals,  should  be  patronized  among  us?  I  am 
far  from  saying — indeed,  I  do  not  believe — that  Rom- 
ish priests  in  this  country  are  as  immoral  as  they  are 
in  Rome.  I  believe  they  are  worse  in  Italy  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  world.  But  may  it  not  be  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  keen  eye  of  Protestantism  is  upon 
them  ?  "What  will  be  their  morals,  or  ours,  when  they 
have  all  things  to  their  mind  ?  The  Chinese  say  they 
find  here  a  fine  market  for  their  worst  teas — the  French 
for  their  poorest  silks — and  the  English  for  their  worst 
manufactures.  When  fashions  are  worn  out  in  Europe, 
they  are  often  in  full  credit  here !     Must  it  be  so  with 

H 


,    170  kirwan's   letters. 

m  Americans  putting  on  what  Italians  cast  off. 

its  religion  also  ?  Is  it  to  the  credit  of  our  country  that 
she  should  be  dressing  herself  up  in  the  old,  tawdry, 
moth-eaten  garments  of  the  old  whore  of  Babylon, 
which  even  the  down-trodden  Italians  are  casting  in- 
dignantly away? 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


kirwan's   letters.  171 


Avignon.  Its  curiosities.  Mine  host 


LETTER    XIX. 

Avignon. —  Hotel  de  l'Europe — mine  Host.  —  Captain  Packenham. — 
Elasticity  of  Romanism — the  Pope — Priests. — Despotism  of  Roman- 
ism.— Friends  of  the  Pope.  —  Neapolitan  Catechism.  —  Priests  the 
Watchmen  of  Despotism — their  horrid  Use  of  the  Confessional — it 
should  be  the  Abhorrence  of  all  Flesh. 

My  dear  Sir, — On  Friday,  the  23d  of  May,  I  was 
landed  in  Avignon,  famous  in  history  as  the  old  seat 
of  the  Popedom  during  the  split  that  rent  the  Papal 
Church  in  twain*  Myself  and  friend  put  up  at  the  Ho- 
tel de  l'Europe,  a  most  comfortahle  and  pleasant  house. 
The  attractions  of  this  town  to  a  traveler  are  the  old 
Palace  of  the  Popes,  now  a  prison,  with  the  old  cathe- 
dral by  its  side,  both  built  upon  the  top  of  a  rock  ;  and 
the  Museum,  which  is  a  curiosity  in  its  way.  On  the 
side  of  the  old  palace  is  a  tower  upward  of  two  hund- 
red feet  high,  the  Tarpeian  rock  of  Avignon,  and  from 
which  multitudes  have  been  cast  down  for  summary 
death !  It  is  frightful  to  look  at — it  is  frightful  to  think 
of  the  inhumanity  that  would  cast  even  a  dog  down 
the  dreadful  steep!  And  after  seeing  its  sights,  and 
looking  out  from  its  towering  cliff  upon  the  winding 
Rhone  that  washes  its  base — the  vine-clad  hills  every 
where  visible — and  upon  the  snowy  mountains  that  prop 
the  sky  in  the  distant  horizon,  we  returned  to  our  hotel. 

Its  keeper  is  a  polite  Frenchman,  slender  in  person, 
with  an  intelligent  eye,  a  thoughtful  countenance,  a 
pretty  good  knowledge  of  English,  and  quite  chatty. 


172  •         kirwan's   letters. 

Where  do  you  go,  Sir  ?  Adaptation.  An  exile. 

After  a  few  minutes  of  general  conversation,  he  asked, 
in  a  pleasant  manner,  "  Where  do  you  go,  Sir?"  "  To 
Rome,"  I  replied.  "And  be  you  a  Catholique?"  he 
asked.  "0  no,"  I  answered,  "I  am  a  Protestant;" 
and  immediately  added,  "there  are  not  many  Catho- 
lics in  America,  save  those  who  go  there  from  Europe 
— the  Catholic  religion  does  not  suit  our  institutions." 
"With  that  emphatic  shrug  of  the  shoulder  peculiar  to 
a  Frenchman,  and  with  a  peculiar  look  and  accent, 
which  made  me  doubt  whether  he  spoke  in  faith  or  in 
fun,  he  replied,  "You  do  not  understand  in  America 
the  religion  Catholique :  it  suits  itself  to  all  the  insti- 
tutions in  the  world."  This  was  certainly  saying  much 
for  its  gum-elastic  properties,  and  it  is  true,  with  cer- 
tain restrictions.  It  makes  perpetual  war  against  the 
Bible  and  the  simple  institutions  of  the  Grospel.  With 
these  exceptions,  it  literally  becomes  all  things  to  all 
men,  but  with  this  one  object  steadily  in  view,  that  it 
may  induce  some  to  put  on  its  yoke.  But,  because  its 
devices  are  known,  its  power  is  broken. 

I  met  more  than  once  in  Sardinia  and  Switzerland 
the  well-known  Captain  Packenham,  to  whom  I  had  re- 
ceived an  introduction  from  Sir  Culling  Eardley,  a  Brit- 
on by  birth,  a  man  of  family  and  fortune,  a  philanthro- 
pist and  Christian,  and  an  exile  from  Rome  and  Tus- 
cany, where  he  resided  many  years,  because  of  his  dis- 
tributing in  those  places  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  Italian ! 
But  few  men  have  had  better  opportunities  of  studying 
Popery  at  home,  or  of  forming  so  true  a  judgment  of  its 
priests.  And  as  we  were  walking  together  the  streets 
of  Lausanne,  and  as  he  was  pouring  forth  the  noble 
thoughts  of  his  noble  mind,  and  with  all  the  ardor  of 


K  I  R  W  A  N 


'S     LETTERS.  173 


Popery  a  police.  Its  elasticity.  The  Pope. 

a  warm  Christian  heart,  he  uttered  this  memorable 
sentiment:  "Popery,  Sir,  is  the  police  of  despotism, 
and  its  priests  are  its  watchmen"  Never  was  the 
sy&tem  and  its  priests  more  truly,  briefly,  or  eloquent- 
ly characterized.  The  sentence  is  worthy  of  a  place 
among  the  proverbs  of  the  wise  and  good ;  and  you  will 
permit  me,  in  the  present  letter,  to  state  to  you  a  few 
things  to  prove  and  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  saying 
of  mine  host  at  Avignon,  and  of  the  exile  of  Rome. 

The  gum-elastic  properties  of  Romanism  are  obvious 
every  where.  Look  at  it  from  whatever  stand-point  you 
may,  and  you  can  not  fail  to  see  them.  See  these  prop- 
erties as  manifested  by  the  Pope !  He  is  now  a  tem- 
poral prince — now  the  vicar  of  Christ — now  glittering 
from  his  throne — now  washing  pilgrims'  feet — lauded 
in  America  as  a  liberal,  in  Austria  as  a  despot — to-day 
he  is  a  shepherd  of  the  sheep,  and  to-morrow,  like  Peter, 
a  fisherman ;  "  determined,"  in  the  language  of  an  En- 
glish wit,  "to  live  by  hook  and  by  crook."  There  is 
not  a  state  of  things  existing,  nor  is  there  one  likely  to 
arise,  save  the  spread  of  the  true  Gospel,  and  the  put- 
ting up  of  free,  civil,  and  religious  institutions  in  Cen- 
tral and  Southern  Europe,  to  which  he  may  not  extend 
or  contract  himself.  His  gum-elastic  properties  are 
wonderful. 

Look  at  its  priests.  They  will  multiply  idols  to  suit 
a  Chinaman  —  they  will  worship  the  Great  Spirit  to 
suit  the  Indian — they  will  preach  up  greegrees  and 
charms  to  gain  the  Hottentot.  They  will  synchronize 
with  any  form  of  error  to  make  friends  for  themselves, 
or  adherents  to  their  system,  or  to  raise  barriers  against 
the  progress  of  the  truth.     They  will  laud  the  despotism 


174  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


P.astic  priests. 


Who  can  know  it?  Despotism. 


of  Tuscany — they  will  consecrate  the  trees  of  liberty 
in  Paris — they  will  shout  hosannas  to  democracy  in 
New  York,  and  to  the  most  despicable  despot  that  lives, 
the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  at  Naples.      They  will 
preach  up  liberty  of  conscience  in  Baltimore — no  lib- 
erty of  conscience  in  Rome  ;  the  freedom  of  the  press 
here — no  freedom  of  the  press  in  Naples.     They  will 
flout  the  British  ministry  for  protecting  British  subjects 
from  their  wiles,  and  they  will  curse  the  King  of  Sar- 
dinia for  permitting  a  Protestant  Church  to  be  erected 
in  Turin !     Sir,  it  is  my  deliberate  conviction,  that  if 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth  there  is  a  class  of  men  more 
destitute  of  principle  than  another,  or  less  to  be  trusted 
than  another,  it  is  the  priesthood  of  the  Romish  Church. 
They  are  a  sacerdotal  company,  disconnected  by  the 
ordinary  ties  of  humanity  with  their  race,  a  close  cor- 
poration, and  with  no  principles  but  those  which  pro- 
mote their  interest.     "  You  do  not  understand  in  Amer- 
ica the  religion  Catholique,"  said  my  host  in  Avignon; 
and  in  the  name  of  humanity,  who  can  understand  it  ? 
And  the  despotism  of  Popery  is  equally  obvious  as 
is  the  elasticity  of  its  principles.     To  prove  this,  I  will 
not  go  back  to  the  annals  of  the  Dark  Ages— to  the 
claims  of  Hildebrand — to  the  wars  waged  concerning 
the  right  of  investiture — to  the  terrible  interdicts  of 
the  Yatican,  nor  to  the  despotic  doctrines  which  form 
the  chief  material  of  the  system.     To  prove  true  the 
sentiment  uttered  by  my  friend  at  Lausanne,  I  will 
call  before  you  living  witnesses,  which  you  may  cross- 
examine  at  your  pleasure. 

A  proverb  is  a  short  saying  or  a  moral  rule  deduced 
from  an  extended  experience,  and  whose  truth  all  ex- 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  175 

Men  judged  by  their  company.  A  catechism. 

perience  unites  to  prove.  Now,  Sir,  it  has  passed  into 
a  proverb,  that  "men  are  judged  by  the  company  they 
keep."  Let  us  try  the  Pope  by  this  rule.  If  sent  out 
to  select  from  all  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  the  ver- 
iest despots,  who,  Sir,  would  you  select?  If  you  have 
read  Gladstone's  letters,  you  would  probably  select  the 
King  of  Naples  first ;  and  in  view  of  the  recent  atroci- 
ties in  Hungary,  you  would  select  the  Emperor  of  Aus- 
tria next.  Now  he  of  Naples  is  the  bosom  friend  of 
Pio  Nino,  and  is  regarded  by  the  father  of  the  faithful 
as  the  most  pious  of  all  his  children,  while  the  sin  of 
perjury  lies  heavy  upon  his  soul,  and  the  blood  of  his  be- 
trayed and  murdered  subjects  stains  all  his  garments; 
and  he  of  Austria,  in  whom  centres  all  the  despotism, 
superstition,  and  cruelty  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg,  is 
the  chief  prop  of  his  chair  !  "What  the  two  great  pil- 
lars, Jachin  and  Boaz,  were  to  the  temple  of  Solomon, 
these  two  despots  are  to  the  present  Pope.  And  the 
greater  the  despot,  the  higher  he  stands  in  the  affec- 
tions of  the  Holy  Father.     So  far  for  the  Pope. 

Now,  Sir,  for  the  priests.  The  following  are  extracts 
from  a  catechism,  written  by  a  bishop,  and  taught  to 
all  the  children  in  all  the  schools  in  the  Two  Sicilies,  as 
quoted  from  Gladstone's  letters  to  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen, 
to  which  I  have  just  alluded.  I  would  recommend 
the  pamphlet  to  your  serious  perusal,  and  to  that  of  all 
men.  More  horrible  doctrines  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of,  or  to  pen ;  and  yet  they  are  published  under 
the  vail  of  religion !  0  Religion,  how  often  has  thy 
purity  been  invoked  to  give  sanction  and  currency  to 
the  "doctrines  of  devils,"  and  to  the  cruel  machinations 
of  priests ! 


176  kirwan's   letters. 


Extracts.  Liberals  lost.  People  made  for  submission. 


"  Q,.  Are  all  liberals  wicked  in  one  and  the  same 
fashion  ? 

"A.  No;  but,  notwithstanding,  they  are  traveling 
the  same  road,  and,  if  they  do  not  alter  their  course, 
they  will  arrive  at  the  same  goal."  That  is,  all  liberals 
in  politics  will  be  eternally  lost !  There  is,  then,  no 
hope  for  any  of  us  in  America  ! 

"  Q,.  Can  the  people  establish  fundamental  laws  in 
a  state  ? 

"A.  No;  because  a  Constitution  or  fundamental 
laws  are,  of  necessity,  a  limitation  of  sovereignty  ;  and 
this  can  never  receive  any  measure  or  boundary  except 
by  its  own  act. 

"  Q,.  If  the  people,  in  electing  a  sovereign,  impose 
upon  him  conditions  or  reservations,  will  not  these  form 
the  Constitution  and  fundamental  laws  of  the  state  ? 

"A.  They  will,  provided  the  sovereign  grant  them 
freely ;  otherwise  they  will  not ;  because  the  people,  ivho 
are  made  for  submission,  and  not  for  command,  can 
not  impose  a  law  upon  the  sovereignty,  which  derives 
its  power,  not  from  them,  but  from  God. 

"  Q,.  If  a  prince  has  sworn  to  observe  a  Constitution, 
is  he  bound  to  maintain  it  ? 

"A.  He  is,  provided  it  does  not  overthrow  the  foun- 
dations of  sovereignty  ;  and  provided  it  is  not  opposed 
to  the  general  interests  of  the  state.  When  a  sover- 
eign finds  a  fundamental  law  is  seriously  hurtful  to  his 
people,  he  is  bound  to  cancel  it,  because  the  duty  of 
the  sovereign  is  the  people's  weal.  An  oath  can  not 
become  an  obligation  to  commit  evil,  and  therefore  can 
not  bind  a  sovereign  to  do  what  is  injurious  to  his  sub- 
jects     Besides,  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  author- 


kirwan's  letters.  177 


Absolving  power.  Sovereign  power.  Careful  teaching. 

ity  from  God  to  release  consciences  from  oaths,  when 
he  judges  that  there  is  suitable  cause  for  UP  Here 
is  the  old  power  of  absolving  kings  from  their  oaths, 
and  turning  them  loose  as  blood-hounds  among  their 
people,  revived ! 

"  Q,.  Whose  business  is  it  to  decide  when  the  Con- 
stitution impairs  the  right  of  sovereignty,  and  is  ad- 
verse to  the  welfare  of  the  people  ?  , 

"  A.  It  is  the  business  of  the  sovereign,  because  in 
him  resides  the  high  and  paramount  power  established 
by  Grod  in  the  state  with  a  view  to  its  good  order  and 
felicity. 

"  Q,.  May  there  not  be  some  danger  that  the  sover- 
eign may  violate  the  Constitution  without  just  cause, 
under  the  illusion  of  error  or  the  impulse  of  passion  ? 

"  A.  Errors  and  passions  are  the  maladies  of  the 
human  race  ;  but  the  blessings  of  health  ought  not  to 
be  refused  through  the  fear  of  sickness." 

This  catechism,  teaching  such  horrible  doctrines, 
was  written  by  a  bishop,  is  circulated  by  bishops  to  all 
their  priests,  and  by  the  priests  is  taught  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  Sicily ;  its  doctrines  are  more  carefully  taught 
to  the  young  than  are  any  articles  of  the  Christian  faith. 
"With  these  extracts  before  you,  will  you  hesitate  a  mo- 
ment to  believe  that  "  Popery  is  the  police  of  despot- 
ism ?"  And  with  doctrines  like  these  it  supports  des- 
potism in  every  country  in  Europe  where  it  exists,  and 
where  the  despots  are  Papists.  And  as  it  absolves  a 
Papal  king  from  his  oath  to  his  subjects,  so  it  absolves 
Papal  subjects  from  their  allegiance  to  their  Protest- 
ant king,  when  the  good  of  the  Church  requires  it. 
Are  these  catechism-makers  the  men  for  our  country  ? 

H2  • 


178  kirwan's   letters. 

Watchmen  of  despotism.  Hard  swimming.  Base  means. 

Should  these  spies  of  despotism  receive  any  counte- 
nance from  freemen  ? 

But  is  it  true  that  the  "  priests  are  the  watchmen 
of  despotism  ?"  Never  was  a  more  true  sentiment  ut- 
tered ;  and  never  was  the  sentiment  more  true  than  at 
the  present  hour. '  The  system  is  struggling  for  its  very 
life — its  foundations  are  giving  way  in  all  lands — the 
wa^s  of  public  opinion  are  dashing  against  the  super- 
structure, and  its  priests  are  putting  forth  every  effort 
to  save  it  and  themselves,  as  they  well  know  that  when 
their  ship  sinks  they  will  have  hard  swimming. 

Despotisms  are  always  base,  and  will  use  any  means 
to  retain  their  power.  They  are  public  robbers  ;  and, 
like  other  robbers,  have  no  conscience  as  to  the  means 
they  use.  They  employ  spies — use  bribery — lay  snares 
— get  up  plots — sow  dissensions,  and  use  all  unright- 
eous means  to  find  out  and  to  kill  off  their  enemies, 
and  to  consolidate  their  usurped  power,  and  to  put  new 
rivets  into  the  chains  that  bind  people  and  nations  to 
their  thrones.  And  as  the  Papacy  is  the  basest  of  des- 
potisms, it  has  the  base  pre-eminence  of  using  the  most 
base  means  to  accomplish  its  purposes.  Other  despot- 
isms seek  by  spies  to  discover  plots,  and  secret  cabals, 
and  overt  acts  ;  but  Popery  has  a  plan  by  which  not 
only  to  discover  all  these,  with  almost  infallible  cer- 
tainty, but  also  the  very  thoughts  of  men.  And  this  it 
does  through  the  infamous  confessional — "  the  slaugh- 
ter-house of  consciences"  —  an  institution  devised  in 
hell,  and  set  up  on  earth  in  the  name  of  religion,  that 
"  the  Man  of  Sin"  may  find  out  the  secrets  of  all  fam- 
ilies, and  of  all  hearts,  and  for  the  purpose  of  wielding 
them  all  to  the  maintenance  of  his  bad  dominion.    All 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  179 

Confessions.  Their  effects  in  Naples,  Rome. 

■ ■ — ■ — ■— — 

are  obliged  to-  confess  on  the  pain  of  eternal  death ;  no 
confession  avails  if  any  sin  or  secret  thought  is  kept 
back ;  and  these  confessions,  when  necessary,  are  sent  to 
head-quarters.  In  this  way  the  court  of  Rome  is  invest- 
ed with  a  kind  of  omniscience,  as  through  the  priests,  its 
spies,  its  watchmen,  who  have  their  confession-boxes 
every  where,  they  find  out  the  secrets  of  courts,  cabi- 
nets, and  families,  and  even  the  very  thoughts  of  men's 
hearts.  And  what  is  the  effect  of  all  thft  ?  A  true 
Papist  is  afraid  to  think,  because  his  conscience  drags 
him  to  the  confessional ;  and  the  priest  who  sits  there, 
weaving  webs  to  catch  the  unwary,  as  does  a  bottled 
spider  to  catch  flies,  will  drag  out  his  thoughts,  and 
when  these  thoughts  are  drawn  out,  they  are  sent  to 
head-quarters  !  I  know  the  theory  is,  that  confessions 
made  to  a  priest  are  buried  in  his  bosom ;  but  has  not 
"  the  Head  of  the  Church  authority  from  (rod  to  re- 
lease consciences  from  oaths  when  he  judges  that  there 
is  suitable  cause  for  it?"  And  what  cause  can  be 
more  suitable  than  the  good  of  the  Church,  and  the 
safety  of  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  ? 

And  what,  Sir,  must  be  the  natural  effect  of  all  this 
upon  families  ?  Gro  down  to  Naples  and  see  !  Many 
is  the  Neapolitan  husband,  son,  and  brother,  rotting  in 
the  prisons  there  on  the  information  wrung  from  then- 
wives,  mothers,  and  sisters  by  the  "  watchmen  of  des- 
potism" at  the  confessional.  Go  to  Rome  and  see  ! 
Many  is  the  noble  Roman  in  exile,  or  in  chains  in  the 
dungeons  of  Rome,  on  the  information  wrung  from  the 
female  members  of  their  families  at  the  confessional. 
If  a  wife  or  daughter  goes  to  confession,  the  husband 
and  father  can  intrust  no  secret  to  either,  can  not  re- 


180  kirwan's  letters. 

Effects  in  the  family.  No  fancy  picture. 


pose  any  confidence  in  them.  The  sweets  and  the  con- 
fidences of  home  are  unknown  —  the  sweet,  confiding 
love  of  the  family  circle  is  broken  up — not  a  word  of 
freedom,  or  of  dissatisfaction,  or  of  complaint  must  be 
uttered — no  suspected  guest  must  be  entertained — no 
private  meetings  must  be  held  or  alluded  to,  for  all,  all 
must  be  told  at  the  confessional,  sent  up  to  the  Vatican, 
and  down  to  the  police  !  Even  in  the  heart  of  a  fond 
wife  there*is  no  secret  chamber  which  the  priest,  "  the 
watchman  of  despotism,"  can  not  enter,  and  from  which 
he  may  not  bring  forth  its  most  secret  and  sacred  de- 
posits. Thus  the  mother,  daughters,  and  sisters  are 
converted  by  the  infernal  confessional  into  spies  upon 
the  conduct  of  their  husbands  and  brothers,  and  are 
taught  to  believe  that  they  are  at  once  serving  Grod 
and  the  Church,  and  saving  their  own  souls — yes,  and 
even  doing  the  greatest  good  to  their  husbands  and 
brothers,  when  revealing  their  thoughts  and  their  con- 
duct to  these  "  watchmen  of  despotism."  And  is  this, 
Sir,  a  fancy  picture  ?  Go  and  spend  a  month  in  Naples, 
or  in  Rome,  and  seek  information  from  those  who  are 
competent  and  not  afraid  to  give  it,  and  you  will  say 
that  the  picture  is  not  one  half  to  the  life.  And  I  only 
wonder  that  the  husbands,  sons,  and  brothers  of  wives, 
mothers,  and  sisters,  that  go  to  the  knees  of  Papal  priests 
to  confess,  do  not  rise  as  one  man,  and  pile  up  the  con- 
fession-boxes for  a  grand  bonfire,  and  drive  their  rev- 
erend confessors  and  seducers  to  Purgatory  for  purifica- 
tion. 

Nor,  Sir,  are  these  pictures  of  these  "watchmen  of 
despotism"  confined  to  Naples  and  Rome.  Their  char- 
acter in  those  lands  of  Papal  darkness,  where  the  very 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  181 


Priests  every  where  the  same.  Espionage 

lisjht  is  darkness,  is  their  universal  character.  Wher- 
ever  the  bishops  or  priests,  the  monks  or  the  nuns  of 
Romanism  are  found,  they  are  only  the  spies,  "  the 
watchmen"  of  the  driveling  despot  that  lives  in  the 
Vatican,  himself  the  victim  of  a  clique  of  cardinal  des- 
pots. Through  their  instrumentality  the  nations  of  the 
earth  lie  open  to  the  eye  of  Rome  ;  and  she  is  enabled 
to  judge  of  the  best  means  of  keeping  them  in  her  pow- 
er, or  of  subduing  them  to  her  sceptre.  Archbishops 
are  the  spies  of  the  cardinals  —  bishops,  of  the  arch- 
bishops— priests,  of  the  bishops — and  your  poor  Popish 
maid  or  coachman,  the  nurse  of  your  children,  or  the 
waiter  at  your  table,  is  the  spy  of  the  priest !  And 
this  vast  system  of  espionage  and  tyranny  is  mainly 
conducted  through  the  infamous  confessional ! 

Are  these  watchmen  of  despotism  the  men  for  our 
country  ?  I  put  this  question  to  you,  as  its  honored 
and  honorable  chief  judicial  officer,  and  upon  whose 
ermine  there  is  not  a  stain. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


182  kirwan's   letters. 


Priests  unfrocked.  Opposite  opinions. 


LETTER   XX. 

Character  of  Priests.— A  Walk  in  Turin.— Bishops  in  England  and 
America  Spies  of  Rome.— Ecclesiastical  Preferments  the  Rewards  of 
Spies.— When  Priests  and  Despots  are  in  League,  no  Hope  for  the 

People. Examples  of  priestly  Despotism.— Curse  from  the  Altar. — 

Case  of  the  Antrim  Miller.— Priests  the  Curse  of  Ireland.— Can  they 
be  a  blessing  to  America? 

My  dear  Sir, — As  I  have  a  little  more  to  say  on  the 
subject,  I  return  again  to  the  "  watchmen  of  despot- 
ism." These  watchmen  have  been  permitted  to  wear 
the  garment  and  the  crook  of  shepherds  long  enough ; 
it  is  time  that  their  overcoats  should  be  torn  off,  and 
that  they  should  be  revealed  in  their  true  livery. 

Perhaps  in  no  part  of  the  world  are  the  priests  of 
Romanism  putting  forth  more  strenuous  efforts  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  despotism  of  Rome  than  in  the 
"United  States.  And  while  lauding  our  institutions, 
and  at  times  almost  eloquent  in  favor  of  liberty  of  con- 
science, there  is  not  a  feeling  of  their  hearts,  nor  a  sym- 
pathy of  their  nature,  which  does  not  cluster  around 
the  man  of  the  triple  crown.  As  with  one  voice,  did 
they  not  denounce  the  Roman  Republic,  and  hurl  their 
anathemas  against  its  leaders,  and  preach  up  a  "  Peter 
pence"  contribution  for  to  sustain  the  priests  carousing 
at  G-aeta  ?  Did  not  bishops  here,  while  playing  into 
the  hands  of  Whigs  or  Democrats  to  gain  their  ends, 
denounce  the  revolution  in  Hungary,  rejoice  over  the 
bloody  triumphs  of  the  united  forces  of  Russia  and 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  183 


Heart  at  Rome.  A  talk  in  Turin. 

Austria,  and  denounce  the  great  Magyar  even  before 
he  trod  the  soil,  or  breathed  the  air  of  our  free  coun- 
try ?  How  do  you  account,  Sir,  for  this  sympathy  with 
tyranny  abroad,  and  this  eulogy  of  freedom  at  home  ? 
Their  heart  is  in  Rome,  and  so  is  their  allegiance. 
Priests  are  here  "  the  watchmen  of  despotism,"  and  are 
bound  to  Rome  by  every  tie  that  can  bind  a  slave  to 
his  master.  And  if  it  would  only  confirm  the  dominion 
of  Pio  Nono,  and  tend  to  suppress  the  Bible  and  the 
awful  heresy  of  "  private  reasoning,"  there  is  not  a 
priest  in  this  Union  who  would  not  rejoice  over  the 
ruins  of  our  Republic  to-morrow.  The  man  who  be- 
lieves otherwise  is  almost  fit  to  read  without  a  smile, 
and  with  edification,  "  the  History  of  the  Holy  House 
of  Loretto,  by  the  Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  Gr." 

As  I  was  one  day  viewing  with  a  friend  the  city  of 
Turin,  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  surrounding  scenery 
— the  Superga,  the  snowy  Alps,  the  winding  Po,  and 
the  beautiful  Colline,  sparkling  with  villas  from  bottom 
to  top,  "  Where,"  said  I,  "is  the  new  Protestant  church 
to  be  erected  ?"  We  were  moving  along  at  the  moment 
a  beautiful  promenade,  wide,  and  planted  with  trees, 
and  destined  at  no  distant  day  to  be  the  finest  street  in 
that  rapidly  increasing  city.  "  In  this  very  street,"  was 
the  reply.  No  finer  or  more  prominent  position  could 
be  selected.  The  question  led  to  a  most  interesting 
conversation  as  to  the  progress  of  free  institutions  in 
that  country,  and  as  to  the  determination  of  the  king, 
and  nobles,  and  Parliament  to  secure  freedom  to  all  to 
worship  God  as  they  deem  best.  During  the  deeply- 
interesting  and  eloquent  remarks  of  my  friend,  he  gave 
utterance  to  this  sentiment :  "  Our  English  and  Amer- 


184  kirwan's   letters. 

Wiseman  and  Hughes.  Britain.  Who  get  palliuma. 

ican  friends  come  to  Italy  to  see  us.  We  are  glad  to 
see  them.  We  give  them  often  in  detail  what  is  doing 
to  promote  right  views  and  right  institutions ;  but  they 
often,  unwittingly,  do  us  great  injury.  They  go  back 
and  publish  our  statements  to  the  world ;  and  the  first  we 
know  of  the  matter  is  by  hearing  of  a  most  urgent  ap- 
peal from  Wiseman  of  London,  or  Hughes  of  New  York, 
for  the  withdrawal  of  all  privileges  from  Protestants, 
so  as  to  check  all  progress  toward  freedom  in  these 
countries.  What  we  tell  here  in  private  is  published 
abroad,  and  is  sent  back  here  by  bishops  and  priests, 
as  information  to  these  priestly  despots."  What  a  fact 
in  proof  of  the  allegation  that  Popish  priests  are  the 
spies  of  despotism  !  You  can  not,  Sir,  close  your  eyes 
to  the  existing  state  of  things  in  Britain.  There  is  not 
an  act  of  Parliament — from  its  inception  to  its  passage 
or  defeat — bearing  in  the  most  remote  degree  upon  the 
education  or  moral  instruction  of  the  people,  which  is 
not  known  and  canvassed  at  Rome,  and  on  which  the 
Papal  party  in  the  kingdom  does  not  side  with  the  Vati- 
can. And  in  our  own  happy  country,  the  mitre  and 
the  pallium  are  usually  rewards  of  merit  bestowed  by 
the  Pope  upon  those  priests  who  have  best  performed 
their  duties  as  his  pimps  or  watchmen.  These  ecclesi- 
astical baubles  are  not  the  rewards  of  piety,  or  talent, 
or  of  high  virtue,  but  of  subserviency  to  that  politico- 
ecclesiastical  power  which  claims  to  fetter  the  nations, 
and  to  think  for  the  race,  by  the  authority  of  Grod. 
And  the  winners  of  cardinals'  caps  are  usually  those 
most  unscrupulous  in  principle,  and  most  destitute  of 
the  cardinal  virtues. 

"  Popery  is  the  police  of  despotism,"  said  my  friend 


KIRWAN 


's     LETTERS.  185 


No  hope.  Terrible  agency.  The  prop  of  despotism. 

at  Lausanne.  That  it  is  the  agency  through  which 
despots  can  "best  govern  their  people,  is  most  obvious. 
When  the  people  are  Papists,  and  the  priests  are  in 
league  with  the  state,  what  hope  is  there  for  the  people  ? 
If  a  man  breathes  at  the  confessional  the  aspirations  of 
his  soul  after  liberty,  they  are  known  to  the  police. 
Wives  and  sisters  are  made  spies  upon  their  husbands 
and  brothers.  Where  can  a  spark  of  patriotism  glow 
beyond  the  scrutiny  of  priestly  eyes  ?  It  prohibits  the 
circulation  of  the  Bible  ;  it  forbids  the  religious  tract ; 
it  anathematizes  all  works  which  vindicate  the  natural 
rights  of  man  ;  it  walls  out  all  evangelical  influences  ; 
it  withholds  all  religious  rites,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
bishops  of  Sardinia,  from  those  who  oppose  its  policy ; 
it  muzzles  the  press  ;  it  stimulates  the  faithful  by  prom- 
ises of  heaven,  and  terrifies  the  disobedient  by  the 
threats  of  sending  them  to  hell,  making  them  all  to  be- 
lieve that  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell  hang  by  her 
girdle.  With  an  agency  like  this  in  his  favor  among 
a  people,  and  that  can  do  all  this  under  the  sanctions 
of  religion,  and  as  the  vicegerents  of  heaven,  what  has 
any  despot  to  fear?  And  hence  the  natural  inclina- 
tions of  despotism  to  Romanism  !  Without  Romanism 
and  its  priests,  the  government  of  Naples  could  not  sur- 
vive a  day,  nor  could  that  of  Austria  a  week.  Where 
the  people  are  Papists,  the  priests  are  their  real  govern- 
ors, and  it  is  the  policy  of  rulers  to  court  their  influence. 
This  explains  some  things  very  queer  in  the  recent  con- 
duct of  the  King  of  Prussia  ;  it  explains  the  entire  con- 
duct of  that  puppet,  "  the  Nephew  of  his  Uncle,"  as  he 
is  contemptuously  called ,  who  now  rules  in  France  ;  it 
explains  the  unworthy  conduct  of  some  of  our   own 


i86  kirwan's   letters. 


Priest's  power.  Despot  and  priest.  Ordinary  priests. 

farthing  politicians,  who  flatter  the  priest  to  get  the 
votes  of  the  people  he  rides  !     And  until  the  power  of 
the  priest  over  the  people  is  "broken — until  thus  the 
strong  motive  is  removed  from  despots  for  protecting 
and  paying  the  priest,  I  see  no  hope  for  the  nations 
now  bowed  down  under  the  double  yoke  of  despotism 
and  Romanism.     As  long  as  the  vigilant  police  of  Pop- 
ery can  be  sustained  by  a  despot  among  a  people  that 
will  submit  to  it,  for  the  freedom  of  that  people  there 
is  no  earthly  hope.     To  be  free,  the  despot  and  the 
priest  must  go  up  into  the  air,  or  sink  down  into  the 
pit  together  !     Hence,  unless  I  greatly  misinterpret  the 
feelings  of  Papal  Europe,  and  the  signs  of  the  times, 
the  next  war  south,  or  even  north  oMhe  Alps,  will  be 
a  terrible  one  for  the  priests.     "  The  watchmen  of  des- 
potism" will  be  the  very  first  victims ;  as  far  as  they 
are  concerned,  it  will  be  a  war  to  the  knife.     They 
have  sown  the  wind,  and  they  will  reap  the  whirlwind. 
And  it  is  astonishing  to  what  a  degree  the  ordinary 
priests  partake  of  the  spirit  of  the  system,  and  act  the 
despot  within  the  bounds  of  their  little  parishes.     Even 
in  this  free  country,  much  of  our  emigrant  population 
suffers  under  their  despotism;  and,  although  free  to 
think  and  to  act  for  themselves  under  our  laws,  they 
stand  in  terror  of  "  the  higher  law"  of  the  priest.     I 
have  known  the  life  of  a  poor  servant  girl  to  be  threat- 
ened by  her  own  immediate  relatives  for  becoming  a 
Protestant,  and  since  I  commenced  writing  this  letter, 
another  has  told  me  that  her  own  mother  threatened  to 
shoot  her  dead  because  she  has  attached  herself  to  a 
Methodist  Church!     So  horrible  is  the   system  that, 
when  it  takes  hold  of  an  ignorant  mind,  it  extinguishes 


kirwan's   letters.  187 

Priests  promote  violence.  A  widow.  Common  thing. 


even  natural  affection  !  And,  if  not  exhorters  to  these 
brutal  exhibitions  of  superstitious  passion,  the  priests 
are  no  check  to  them.  In  many  portions  of  the  world, 
they  excite  to  them  by  exhortation  and  example. 

Not  many  months  ago,  a  poor  Irish  widow,  with 
eight  or  nine  children,  came  to  me  to  secure  service  for 
one  of  them.  They  all  looked  healthy,  but  not  one  of 
them  knew  a  letter  of  the  alphabet.  "  How  came 
you,"  said  I,  "to  bring  up  these  children  in  such  gross 
ignorance  ?"  Her  reply  astounded  me.  "  I  lived,"  said 
she,  "  in  Ireland,  between  two  small  towns,  in  each  of 
which  was  a  good  Protestant  school,  and  I  wanted  to 
send  my  children  to  them,  but  the  priest  said  if  I  did, 
that  he  would  curse  me  from  the  altar ;  and  then  no- 
body would  speak  to  me ;  and  they  might  kill  me  and 
my  children."  And  the  least  acquaintance  with  the 
cruel  despotism  of  the  priests  in  the  south  and  west  of 
Ireland,  will  satisfy  any  body  that  this  is  only  a  favor- 
able illustration  of  their  general  conduct.  I  have  re- 
cently passed  through  the  north,  west,  and  eastern  por- 
tions of  that  unhappy  country,  and  I  have  learned 
things  as  to  their  conduct  to  then  people  which  should 
brand  them  with  the  brand  of  infamy  as  indelibly  as 
ever  was  Cain. 

"Why,  Sir,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  these  "  sur- 
pliced  ruffians,"  as  they  are  called  by  the  London 
Times,  to  go  to  a  school  collected  by  the  philanthropy 
and  supported  by  the  charity  of  a  few  Protestant  ladies, 
and  to  break  it  up  by  cowhiding  all  its  pupils.  This 
is  a  very  common  occurrence.  The  daughter  of  an 
old  magistrate  residing  near  Ballinrobe  collected  a 
school,  in  which  they  daily  taught  the  children  of  the 


188  kirwan's   letters. 

A  whipping  scene.  Crazed  by  a  curse.  Raving. 

poor.  The  priest  entered  it  a  few  months  ago,  and 
asked  if  the  children  were  taught  to  read  with  a  view 
of  reading  the  Bible.  On  being  informed  that  they 
were,  he  whipped  every  child  out  of  the  house.  The 
priest  denounced  from  the  altar  a  school  under  the  care 
of  the  lady  of  the  High  Sheriff  of  Gralway,  and  whipped 
a  respectable  old  man  out  of  the  chapel  for  permitting 
his  children  to  go  to  it.  These  Bible  haters  are  often 
seen  flogging  poor  ignorant  mothers  in  the  streets  and 
roads  for  permitting  their  children  to  go  to  other  than  a 
Papist  school,  and  when  no  such  school  is  within  their 
reach ! 

One  of  these  Irish  priests  residing  at  Ballahadireen, 
a  few  years  since,  had  a  quarrel  with  one  of  his  poor 
parishioners  ;  in' this  quarrel,  the  wife  of  the  man  sided 
with  her  husband,  like  a  noble-minded  and  honest 
woman.  Seeing  her  in  church  one  day,  the  priest 
cursed  her  from  the  altar.  Her  reverence  for  the 
priest,  and  her  superstitious  faith  in  his  ghostly,  power, 
gave  to  the  curse  an  awful  effect.  F*om  that  hour  she 
has  been  a  crazed  maniac.  She  yet  lives  to  testify  to 
the  power  of  the  priestly  curse  over  an  ignorant  people ; 
and  as  she  meets  her  neighbors,  she  thus  addresses 
them  :  "I  have  lost  my  soul ;  when  the  priest  cursed 
me,  I  felt  my  head  open,  and  my  soul  flew  away.  I 
have  been  seeking  it  ever  since,  but  have  not  been  able 
to  find  it.     0,  will  you  not  help  me  to  find  my  soul." 

To  illustrate  the  priesVs  curse,  and  to  show  you  its 
terrific  power  over  a  Popish  people,  permit  me  to  nar- 
rate a  case.  There  lived  in  the  glens  of  Antrim  a  plain 
country  farmer,  who,  with  a  few  acres  of  land,  rented 
a  mill.     He  was  well  versed  in  the  Irish  language,  and 


KIRWAN 


i  '  S     LETTERS.  189 


The  Antrim  miller.  Bell,  book,  and  candle.  The  effect. 


was  employed  as  a  reader  to  his  neighbors  of  the  Irish 
Bible.     He  was  a  Papist.     The  priest  sought  to  dis- 
suade him  from  the  blessed  work,  but  he  would  not  be 
dissuaded.     He  threatened  him  ;  but  he  disregarded 
his  threatenings.     He  then  announced  that,  unless  he 
desisted  from  reading  to  his  poor  neighbors  the  "Word 
of  G-od,  on  a  certain  Sabbath  he  would  curse  him  from 
the  altar,  with  "bell,  book,  and  candle."     But  the  rav- 
ings of  the  priest  were  disregarded  by  the  honest  man, 
who  had  now  learned  to  fear  G-od,  and  to  fear  nothing 
else.     On  the  eighteenth  of  August,  1844,  the  curse 
was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Luke  Walsh,  priest  of 
Culfeightrin,  upon  Charles  M'Laughlin,  and  two  others 
that  he  had  associated   with  him,  as   follows:   "My 
curse  and  Grod's  curse  on  Charles  McLaughlin,  Hugh 
Shields,  and  John  M'Cay,  and  on  all  who  shall  hold 
any  communion  with  them,  or  eat  at  the  same  table, 
or  work  in  the  same  field  with  them."     Then  the  bell 
was  rung,  the  book  was  closed,  and  the  candles  on  the 
altar  were  extinguished.     This  completed  the  fearful 
curse.     And  thus  these  men,  with  their  families,  were 
excluded  from  the  society,  the  business,  the  charities 
of  the  earth,  and  consigned  to  eternal  perdition,  for  the 
sin  of  reading  the  Scriptures  to  their  neighbors,  and  by 
a  man  professing  to  be  a  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ !  ! 

And  what  was  the  effect  of  this  curse  as  to  the  chief 
offender,  M'Laughlin  ?  No  person  dared  bring  corn  to 
his  mill ;  he  was  shunned  in  the  streets  as  if  a  leper ; 
none  would  buy  of  him,  or  sell  to  him  ;  his  children 
were  beaten  in  the  streets;  and  on  approaching  a 
wagon  in  a  market  town  to  buy  some  meal  for  his 


190  kirwan's   letters. 

Fearful  state.  Father  Walshes  multiplied. 

family,  the  owner  fled  from  his  wagon  and  his  meal, 
as  if  an  escaped  spirit  from  the  pit  were  approaching 
him  !  And,  were  it  not  for  the  protection  of  some 
Protestants  in  the  place,  he  must  have  fled  from  the 
home  of  his  ancestors,  or  have  fallen  beneath  the  blow 
of  the  murderer,  who,  in  taking  his  life,  would  feel 
that  he  was  serving  Grod ;  and  that  if  he  sinned,  he 
could  easily  procure  a  pardon  from  Father  Walsh.  The 
priest  was  brought  to  trial  for  damages,  and  was  sen- 
tenced to  a  fine  of  d£70,  with  costs ;  and  the  above 
facts  are  taken  from  the  report  of  the  trial  now  before 
me.  I  believe  this  "  surpliced  ruffian,"  "Walsh,  is  yet 
alive  ;  I  know  M'Laughlin  is,  and  that  he  is  an  hum- 
ble Christian,  laboriously  and  successfully  engaged  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  work  of  missions  among  the  Pa- 
pal Irish  that  are  swarming  in  the  Cowgate  and  around 
the  Grass  Market  in  Edinburgh.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  visiting  one  of  his  stations  in  that  city,  and  found 
him  surrounded  with  many,  once  Papists,  but  who  were 
brought  to  the  saving  knowledge  of  Christ  by  the  read- 
ing of  the  Bible.  Now,  Sir,  conceive  of  three  or  four 
thousand  of  these  Father  Walshes  scattered  all  over 
Ireland — the  watchmen  of  despotism  in  every  parish ; 
finding  out  family  secrets  at  the  confessional ;  putting 
out  every  light  that  would  expose  their  wickedness ; 
when  neither  coaxing  nor  threats  will  win  men  to  their 
will,  thus  cursing  them  from  the  altar ;  and  then,  if 
you  can,  conceive  of  the  fact  that  eight  out  of  every 
ten  of  all  its  inhabitants  believe  that  these  priests  are 
the  vicegerents  of  Grod ;  that  they  do  all  they  do  by 
the  authority  of  Heaven,  and  you  will  not  wonder  that 
Ireland  is  what  it  is,  nor  that  its  people,  who  are 


kirwan's    letters.  191 

Bad  effects  of  priests.  Their  two  masters. 

swarming  upon  our  shores,  are  what  they  are.  Their 
deep  ignorance,  their  low  vices,  their  unbridled  pas- 
sions, their  low  civilization,  their  squalid  poverty,  are 
all,  all  the  results  of  the  despotism  of  priests,  many  of 
whom  are  the  most  ferocious,  vicious,  profane,  and  rol- 
licking wretches  in  the  country.  They  care  not  for 
the  government  of  the  land  ;  strong  in  the  superstitious 
reverence  of  the  masses,  they  put  it  to  defiance.  They 
care  not  for  the  rights  of  landlords  who  are  not  sub- 
servient to  them ;  many  of  them  have  fallen  at  noon- 
day on  their  own  estates,  because  of  a  hint  from  the 
altar  in  the  way  of  a  question  like  this:  "  Should  such 
men  live  ?"  They  care  not  for  the  people,  only  so  far 
as  to  keep  the  yoke  of  bondage  on  their  neck.  The 
people  may  do  what  else  they  desire  if  they  will  not 
send  their  children  to  Protestant  schools,  nor  read  the 
Bible,  nor  become  Protestants.  These  men,  who  every 
where  look  as  if  they  far  preferred  prescribing  to  prac- 
ticing penance,  have  but  two  masters,  the  Pope  and 
their  belly.  To  these  they  yield  implicit  obedience ; 
blessing  all  that  promote,  and  cursing  all  that  oppose 
these  masters.  0,  Sir,  are  these  Father  Walshes  the 
men  for  America  ?  If  we  encourage  these  mission- 
aries of  barbarism  in  our  free  land  until  they  obtain 
the  preponderance  they  desire,  we  will  deserve  to  be 
treated  as  was  Satan  by  St.  Dunstan,  who  led  him 
about  by  the  nose  with  a  red-hot  pincers ;  or  to  be 
ranked  with  the  devout  donkey  of  St.  Anthony  of  Pad- 
ua, who,  after  three  days'  fasting,  left  his  provender  to 
worship  the  Host. 

"With  great  respect,  yours. 


192  kirwan's   letters. 


Visit  to  Ballenglen  school. 


LETTER     XXI. 

Ballenglen.— An  Incident.— Persecution  of  Converts.— Thrilling  Fanat- 
icism at  a  Funeral.— The  Way  the  Priests  get  Money.— An  Incident. 
—Cursing  from  the  Altar.— Hard  Case  of  Donovan.— Doing  Penance 
in  Sheets.— Priests'  Power  giving  Way.— Anecdote  of  a  Girl.— The 
Milkman.— Taking  the  Bull  by  the  Horns.— The  Curse  of  Ireland. 

My  dear  Sir, — Even  at  the  risk  of  taxing  your  pa- 
tience and  that  of  my  readers,  I  will  again  return  to 
the  conduct  of  Papal  priests  toward  the  Papal  popula- 
tion of  Ireland.  I  do  so  for  various  reasons  :  to  excite 
a  feeling  of  compassion  in  the  bosom  of  all  Americans 
toward  its  swarming  emigrants  weekly  landed  on  our 
shores ;  to  expose  the  priests  and  their  religion  to  the 
world  ;  to  encourage  Popish  emigrants  here  to  assert 
their  independence,  where  there  is  no  priestly  power  to 
strike  them  down ;  and  to  place  before  you  and  all  our 
people  what  blessings  we  may  reasonably  expect  from 
the  many  priests  sent  from  "the  island  of  saints," 
trained  and  drilled  in  Maynooth  to  guard  our  institu- 
tions, to  enlighten  and  Christianize  us. 

In  company  with  Dr.  Edgar,  and  of  Dr.  Andrews,  of 
Queen's  College,  Belfast,  and  of  Mr.  Allen,  of  Ballina, 
names  not  unknown  in  Ireland,  or  Britain,  or  America, 
I  visited  the  Scotch  Mission  School  in  Ballenglen.  It 
was  deeply  interesting  to  see  there  upward  of  a  hund- 
red children,  neatly  dressed,  under  pious  and  compe- 
tent teachers,  taught  "  to  learn  and  to  earn,"  and,  with 


kirwan's   letters.  193 

The  girl  and  priest.  A  mother.  What  can  we  do  ? 

few  exceptions,  collected  from  the  surrounding  huts  of 
the  Papal  peasantry.  "  Do  you  see  that  girl  on  the 
upper  seat,  about  twenty-one  or  two  years  of  age  ?" 
said  the  noble  Scotch  lady  at  the  head  of  the  female 
department  to  me.  I  looked,  and  replied  in  the  affirm- 
ative. "  That  girl,"  she  continued,  "  has  been  here  but 
a  few  weeks.  She  came  here  not  knowing  a  letter, 
and  scarcely  any  thing  else.  She  is  learning  rapidly, 
and  can  now  earn  two  or  three  shillings  a  week  with 
her  needle,  and  can  do  considerable  for  the  support  of 
her  family.  When  going  home  from  school  yesterday, 
the  priest  met  her  at  the  road,  and  sought  to  horsewhip 
her  for  coming  here,  but  she  outran  him.  She  told 
her  grievance  to  her  mother,  who  sided  with  the  priest, 
and  expressed  her  sorrow  that  he  did  not  catch  her ; 
and  yet  she  returned  here  this  morning,  but  without 
sleeping  a  wink,  or  eating  a  mouthful  since  she  left 
here  yesterday  afternoon."  Amazed  at  the  statement, 
I  asked  if  there  was  no  redress  against  such  priestly 
barbarity.  "  What  can  we  do  ?"  was  the  reply.  "  We 
may  indict  them,  but  then  nobody  will  peril  their  life 
by  testifying  against  them  ;  nor  can  you  get  a  jury,  on 
which  there  is  a  single  Catholic,  to  convict  them.  A 
priest  not  long  ago  was  indicted  for  flogging  a  woman 
terribly,  and  yet,  when  called  to  witness  against  him, 
she  testified  that  '  his  reverence  did  not  hurt  her  at 
all.'  "  And  this  is  but  an  illustration  of  what  is  now 
of  daily  occurrence  in  almost  every  portion  of  Ireland. 
Until  within  a  few  years,  it  was  at  the  risk  of  his 
life  that  any  of  the  peasantry  dared  to  leave  the  priest 
for  the  minister.  The  fury  of  the  priest  excited  the 
people  to  fury,  and  the  poor  convert  was  every  where 

I 


194  kirwan's  letters. 

A  disgrace.  Broken  ties.  A  sister's  love. 

an  unsheltered,  unpitied  object  of  ahftse,  contempt,  and 
violence.  Even  the  mother  cast  out  the  child  from 
the  sanctuary  of  her  heart,  and  mourned  over  the  con- 
version of  her  child  to  Grod  as  a  deep,  dark  disgrace  to 
her  family.  Hear  a  boy  tell  of  the  ties  through  which 
one  must  break  when  he  deserts  the  religion  of  the 
priest : 

\      "  O  pity  the  state  of  a  poor  Irish  youth, 

Whose  heart  has  been  touched  with  a  love  of  the  truth; 

By  father  and  mother  renounced  and  forgot, 

Should  he  dare  to  be  that  which  the  priest  bids  him  not. 

Should  he  open  the  Book  which  to  sinners  was  given, 

To  try  to  make  out  the  right  way  to  heaven, 

The  eyes  will  look  cold  that  smiled  on  him  before, 

And  hearts  that  once  loved  him  will  love  him  no  more." 

And  within  a  few  weeks  the  constabulary  force  of 
the  diocese  of  Tuam,  over  which  the  vulgar  and  sav- 
age M'Hale  presides,  has  been  greatly  increased,  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  the  peace,  which  has  been  great- 
ly disturbed  by  attacks  of  the  mob,  stimulated  by  the 
priests,  upon  converts  from  Romanism. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  Protestants  in  America,  or 
even  Papists  who  have  been  born  here,  to  understand 
the  deep  degradation  to  which  the  priests  have  reduced 
the  native  Irish,  or  the  extent  to  which  they  have 
steeped  them  in  the  most  gross  superstition.  Ponder 
the  followinof  statements  selected  from  a  little  nam- 
phlet,  entitled  "  The  Trials  and  Triumphs  of  Irish  Mis- 
sions," by  Dr.  John  Edgar. 

"At  the  burial  of  a  convert,  his  sister  hastily  gath- 
ered in  her  apron  their  parents'  bones,  and  buried  them 
in  another  part  of  the  church-yard,  lest  they  should  be 
polluted  by  the  cursed  remains  of  an  impenitent  heretic. " 


kirwan's   letters.  195 

Burial  of  a  convert.  The  way  to  catch  herring. 

"  At  the  burial  of  a  convert  who  died  of  hardships 
endured  in  shipwreck,  his  sisters  created  a  great  dis- 
turbance by  their  desperate  efforts  to  have  him  buried 
as  a  Romanist ;  and  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
excitement  created  among  the  Romish  crowd,  when 
one  sister  sung  to  the  wild  Irish  cry, 

"  '  O  would  that  thy  grave  were  made  under  the  billow, 
And  would  that  the  wild  shark  himself  were  thy  pillow, 
Than  thus  on  the  bed  in  thy  senses  to  lie, 
And  our  Church  and  her  priesthood  so  boldly  defy  !' 

"  And  the  second  sister,  taking  up  the  plaintive  wail, 
sang, 

"  '  O  Donagh  !  Donagh  !  can  it  be, 

And  hast  thou  left  us  so, 
The  gem,  the  flower  of  all  thy  race, 

With  heretics  to  go? 
We  lay  thee  in  thy  father's  grave, 

Beneath  thy  mother's  head, 
No  parson  o'er  thee  e'er  shall  pray, 

No  Bible  e'er  be  read.' 

"  In  the  native  Irish  grave -yards  the  latest-buried 
coffin  is  put  under  the  others."  This  explains  a  clause 
in  the  above  wail. 

"  How  very  largely  must  a  Romish  priest  draw  on 
the  superstition  of  his  victim  when  he  demands  a  fee 
for  saying  mass  to  drive  away  vermin,  or  for  cutting 
the  sign  of  the  cross  to  cure  a  vicious  mule.  During 
the  famine  priests  trafficked  to  an  enormous  extent  on 
the  gullibility  of  their  people  by  blessing  salt,  for  hire, 
as  a  cure  for  the  disease  of  the  potato.  Half  a  dozen 
of  crews  are  paying  them  at  the  same  time  for  saying 
mass  over  their  boats ;  and  for  five  or  six  pounds  they 
make  a  bargain  with  the  people  alongshore  to  bring 
an  abundance  of  herring  or  mackerel  into  the  bay. 


196  kirwan's   letters. 

An  awful  oath.  The  effect  An  altar  curse. 

"  0  what  would  not  Ireland  be  if  the  power  of  the 
priests  was  employed  for  good,  as,  alas,  it  is  for  ill !  A 
man-servant  in  a  highly  respectable  family,  being  ap- 
parently  near  his  death,  sent  for  a  priest,  who  refused 
to  administer  '  the  last  rites'  until  he  would  bind  him- 
self by  an  oath,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Grhost,  that  he  would  never  listen  to  the 
Bible  again.  He  refused,  and  the  priest  left  him.  On 
this  a  fellow-servant  rushed  into  the  room,  and  so  placed 
before  him  the  horrors  of  damnation  if  he  died  without 
the  rites  of  the  Church,  that  he  took  the  awful  oath. 
Unexpectedly,  he  recovered,  and  he  still  lives,  with  the 
vow  to  resist  all  Scriptural  instruction  on  his  soul. 
When  asked  whether  he  did  not  know  that  the  Bible 
was  the  word  of  Grod,  he  replied  that  he  knew  it  well, 
but  that  he  knew  also  that  he  would  receive  only  the 
burial  of  a  dog  if  he  died  without  the  blessing  of  the 
priest." 

And  can  we  wonder  at  the  ignorance,  the  supersti- 
tion, the  poverty,  the  servility  of  the  peasantry  of  Ire- 
land that  are  landed  on  our  shores,  when  they  and  their 
fathers  have  been  crushed  for  ages  under  a  spiritual 
despotism  like  this  ? 

I  have  given  one  instance  in  illustration  of  the  priest- 
ly curse  from  the  altar.  I  select  another  from  the  lit- 
tle pamphlet  before  me.  A  poor  woman  sent  her  chil- 
dren to  a  Protestant  school,  and,  on  the  trial  of  the 
priest  for  cursing  her,  a  witness  thus  testified  under 
oath :  "  The  priest  put  on  a  black  dress  ;  the  clerk 
quenched  all  the  candles  but  one,  and  that  one  the 
priest  put  out,  saying, '  So  the  light  of  heaven  is  quench- 
ed upon  her  soul.'     He  then  shut  the  book  and  said, 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  19' 


The  cursed  woman.  Father  O'Brien. 

'  The  gates  of  heaven  are  shut  against  her.'  Her  neigh- 
hors  immediately  withdrew  all  intercourse  from  her. 
Shop-keepers  refused  to  sell  her  even  a  bit  of  bread. 
All  her  children  but  ohe  were  included  in  the  curse ; 
her  husband  forsook  her  ;  and,  had  she  not  been  taken 
into  the  house  of  a  kind  Protestant,  she  must  have  per- 
ished when  on  the  eve  of  giving  birth  to  a  child,  which 
the  priest  had  also  cursed,  for  he  cursed  the  fruit  of 
her  womb  !" 

Now,  Sir,  with  priests  of  this  infernal  character 
swarming  in  every  part  of  Ireland,  making  here  a 
"  sick  call"  for  a  shilling — there  "  giving  a  communion" 
for  two  and  sixpence — there  saying  mass  for  five  shil- 
lings— there  baptizing  for  sums  varying  from  two  to 
twenty  shillings  ;  marrying  sometimes  for  twenty  shil- 
lings and  sometimes  for  twenty  pounds  ;  and  every 
where  carrying  on  a  war  to  the  knife  against  the  Bible, 
and  all  its  free,  ennobling,  and  elevating  influences, 
can  you,  can  any  man  wonder  that  Ireland  is  so  low 
in  the  scale  of  civilization — that  its  people  are  so  poor, 
ignorant,  and  superstitious — that  its  sons  and  daughters 
in  all  the  lands  whither  they  wander  are  hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water  ? 

As  illustrating  the  terrible  tyranny  of  these  "  sur- 
pliced  ruffians"  as  exercised  in  another  way,  permit  me 
to  state  another  case  which  occurred  a  few  years  since. 
A  Rev.  Mr.  O'Brien,  wishing  to  build  a  chapel  in  the 
parish  of  Clonakilty,  drew  up  a  subscription  paper,  and 
taxed  his  parishioners  according  to  his  estimate  of  their 
means.  A  baker  by  the  name  of  Donovan  was  marked 
at  sixteen  shillings  and  threepence,  which  he  paid.  He 
was  again  taxed  nine  shillings,  which  he  also  paid,  but 


198  kirwan's   letters. 

Poor  Donovan.  Priest  inexorable.  Penance  in  sheets. 

under  protest,  because  of  his  poverty.     Soon  a  third  de- 
mand came  for  sixteen  shillings  more,  which  he  refused 
to  pay.    On  the  next  Sabbath,  as  he  was  going  to  mass, 
he  was  asked  by  the  priest  whether  he  would  pay  that 
sixteen  shillings  or  not.     He  replied,  "  I  am  not  able." 
The  priest  replied,  "  I  will  settle  you."     Terrified  by 
the  remark,  Donovan  sent  sixteen  shillings  by  his  wife 
to  the  priest,  who  then  refused  to  take  less  than  two 
guineas.     On  the  following  Sunday  he  cursed  him  from 
the  altar,  and  all  those  who  refused  or  neglected  to  pay 
what  they  were  taxed.     Donovan  went  on  the  next  holi- 
day to  mass,  where  he  was  formally  excommunicated, 
and  all  were  cursed  who  would  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  him.     So  terrible  was  the  dread  of  this  curse,  that 
he  could  not  buy  turf  enough  to  heat  his  oven,  nor 
could  he  sell  any  of  his  stock.     Reduced  to  despair,  he 
went  in  penance,  in  a  white  sheet,  to  the  chapel,  and 
asked  pardon  of  the  priest  and  of  Ood.    The  priest  took 
him  to  his  house  and  demanded  the  two  guineas,  but 
the  sheeted  penitent  told  him  he  could  not  possibly 
make  it  up.     The  excommunication  was  continued  ; 
the  man  was  compelled  to  shut  up  shop,  and  was  driven 
to  beggary.     These  facts  were  brought  out  in  a  trial  for 
damages  before  a  jury  in  Cork,  which  fined  the  rev- 
erend rascal  fifty  pounds. 

This  thing  of  doing  penance,  by  going  to  chapel 
wrapped  up  in  a  white  sheet,  is  quite  a  common  affair 
in  some  parts  of  Ireland.  Sometimes  whole  families 
are  compelled  to  go  thus  dressed,  to  atone  for  the  sins 
of  one  member ;  and  when  the  sin  has  any  squinting 
toward  Protestantism,  the  penance  is  increased  by  com- 
pelling them  to  go  barefooted  and  bareheaded.    A  fam- 


kirwan's   letters.  199 

The  mortified  maid.  Her  temper.  Living  protests. 

ily  in  Mayo  had  thus  to  do  penance  for  the  sins  of  one 
of  their  number.  To  the  family  belonged  a  young 
woman,  who,  although  advanced  in  years,  had  not 
quite  surrendered  all  hopes  of  matrimony.  Her  natural 
hair,  which  was  not  so  dark  as  it  once  was,  she  sought 
to  conceal  by  raven  locks,  which  gave  her  an  appear- 
ance quite  youthful.  But  on  the  fated  Sabbath  her 
borrowed  locks  had  to  be  laid  aside  ;  and  she  entered 
the  church  sheeted,  barefooted,  and,  sad  to  narrate, 
bareheaded !  Her  gray  hair,  and  short  and  thin  at 
that,  revealed  her  years,  and  gave  her  hopes  of  matri- 
mony to  the  winds.  She  yet  lives,  but  has  never  for- 
given the  priest  the  double  injury  which  he  inflicted  on 
her,  to  uncover  her  gray  hairs  and  destroy  her  market. 
Although  a  good  Papist,  it  is  rumored  that  she  raves 
at  his  reverence  whenever  she  thinks  of  the  exposure 
of  her  thin  gray  hairs  on  that  penitential  Sunday.  I 
give  you  the  story  as  I  received  it  from  a  sympathizing 
acquaintance  of  the  deeply-injured  spinster. 

0,  Sir,  there  is  not  a  poor,  ignorant,  half-clad  Irish 
Papist,  man  or  woman,  that  comes  to  these  shores,  that 
is  not  sent  here  by  Providence  to  be  a  protest  against 
Romanism,  and  a  witness  against  its  mercenary  and 
ruffian  priests,  and  to  warn  us  as  a  nation  against  a 
system  which  only  blights,  to  the  extent  of  its  influ- 
ence, all  the  interests  of  humanity.  Nations  recover 
from  the  wasting  influences  of  war,  famine,  and  pesti- 
lence ;  but  for  the  people  who  wear  and  will  bear  the 
yoke  of  Romanism,  there  is  no  recovery. 

But,  Sir,  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that,  even  in  Ire- 
land, the  people  are  beginning  to  see,  and  rightly  to 
estimate  this  horrible  despotism,  and  to  assert  their 


200  kirwan's   letters. 

The  wand  broken.  The  Kerry  girl.  The  milkman. 

rights,  even  amid  the  dangers  that  threatened  them 
when  cursed  and  excommunicated  from  the  altar.  The 
wand  of  the  priest  is  broken  ;  and  the  peasant  that  once 
cowered  before  him  as  a  chicken  before  a  hawk,  or  as 
a  lamb  before  a  wolf,  now  dares  to  resist  him  to  his  face. 
The  gentry  that  once  feared  him,  because  of  his  fear- 
ful power  over  their  tenants,  are  beginning  to  treat  him 
as  he  deserves.  In  spite  of  his  altar  curses,  children  are 
sent  to  school — in  spite  of  his  anathemas,  the  people  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  read  the  Bible  and  believe  it, 
and  are  passing  over  to  swell  the  ranks  of  Protestant- 
ism. Some  amusing  anecdotes  are  every  where  told  in 
illustration  of  all  this.  "  Do  you  pray  to  the  Virgin 
Mary  ?"  said  a  priest  to  a  bright-eyed  Kerry  girl,  the 
daughter  of  one  of  his  parishioners,  that  he  met  near  a 
schoolhouse  with  a  Bible  in  her  hand.  "  No,  your  rever- 
ence ;  and  why  should  I  ?"  was  the  reply.  "  Because 
she  knows  all  things,  and  will  hear  and  answer  your 
prayers,"  said  the  priest.  Quick  as  a  flash,  the  girl  re- 
plied, "  Now  it  is  singular,  your  reverence,  that  if  she 
knows  all  things,  that  she  did  not  know  where  her  Son 
was  when  he  was  missed  from  the  company  that  was 
returning  from  Jerusalem  to  (xalilee  ;  and  see,  here  is 
the  place,"  handing  him  the  Bible,  and  pointing  him 
to  the  second  chapter  of  Luke.  And  he  rode  away,  no 
doubt  cursing  the  Bible,  the  girl,  and  the  school  in  his 
heart. 

An  Irish  milkman  commenced  reading  the  Bible  ; 
his  priest  heard  of  it,  and  was  soon  at  his  house.  "  I 
am  informed  that  you  read  the  Bible,  John,"  said  he ; 
"  is  my  information  correct  ?"  "  Sure  it  is  thrue,  plase 
your  reverence  !  and  a  fine  book  it  is,"  said  John.     "  But 


KIR  WAN's     LETTERS.  201 

The  colloquy.  Milks  his  own  cow. 

vou  know  it  is  very  wrong  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and 
that  an  ignorant  man  like  you  has  no  right  to  do  so," 
said  the  priest.  "  But  you  must  be  afther  provin'  that 
same  before  I  can  consint  to  lave  it  off,"  said  John. 
The  colloquy  then  proceeded  as  follows : 

Priest.  "  That  I  will  soon  do ;  I  will  prove  it  from 
the  book  itself."  And,  taking  the  Bible,  he  read  this 
passage,  from  1  Peter,  ii.,  2:  "As  new-born  babes,  de- 
sire the  sincere  milk  of  the  "Word,  that  you  may  grow 
thereby."  "  Here  you  see,"  said  he,  "  that  you  are 
wrong  to  read  the  Scriptures  yourself;  you  are  only  a 
babe,  and  you  are  enjoined  to  desire  the  sincere  milk 
of  the  Word  ;  one  who  really  understands  what  the  sin- 
cere milk  is,  must  give  it  to  you,  and  teach  you." 

John.  "  Ah,  but  be  aisy,  your  reverence,  while  I  tell 
you.  A  little  time  ago  I  was  took  ill ;  I  got  a  man  to 
milk  my  cows,  and  to  attend  on  my  business,  and  what 
do  you  think  he  did  ?  Why,  instead  of  giving  me  the 
rale  milk,  he  chated  me  by  puttin'  water  in  it ;  and  if 
you  get  my  Bible,  you  may  serve  me  that  same.  No, 
no,  I  will  keep  my  cow,  and  milk  it  myself,  when  I  can 
get  the  sincere  milk,  and  not,  as  I  should  from  you, 
mixed  with  water." 

Priest.  "Well,  John,  I  see  that  you  are  wiser  than 
I  thought  you  were ;  and  as  you  are  not  quite  a  babe, 
keep  your  Bible,  but  don't  lend  it,  or  read  it  to  your 
neighbors." 

John.  "  Sure  enough,  your  reverence,  wrhile  I  have 
a  cow,  and  can  give  a  little  milk  to  my  poor  neighbors 
who  have  none,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  do  so,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, and,  saving  your  reverence,  I  will." 

What  became  of  the  milkman,  the  little  pamphlet, 

12 


202  kirwan's  letters. 


An  incident.  Harrowing  at  midnight.  Clogher. 


"  Ireland,  its  Curse  and  Cure,"  from  which  I  quote  the 
incident,  does  not  state ;  but  it  suggests  that  he  was 
probably  cursed  with  "bell,  book,  and  candle,"  as  was 
another  man  for  the  same  offense,  and  upon  whom  it 
fell  most  heavily.  He  had  a  little  field  from  which  he 
made  a  living.  It  was  plowed  and  sown  ;  but  the  curse 
of  the  priest  would  allow  no  person  to  hire  him  a  horse 
to  harrow  it.  And,  at  dead  of  night,  he  was  compelled 
to  yoke  himself  and  wife  to  the  harrow,  and  thus  to 
cover  his  seed  ! !  And  with  such  priests  of  barbarism 
swarming  in  the  island,  and  thus  every  where  govern- 
ing and  grinding  the  people,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
emigrants  from  Ireland  are  as  ignorant  and  supersti- 
tious as  we  find  them  ?  They  deserve  our  pity  and  com- 
miseration ;  and  the  scorn  and  contempt  with  which 
they  are  often  visited,  should  be  poured  upon  the  re- 
lio-ion  and  its  priests,  which  have  been,  and  are,  the 
chief  causes  of  their  degradation. 

To  show  you  the  manner  in  which  the  gentry,  so 
many  of  whom  have  fallen  victims  to  curses  from  the 
altar,  begin  to  treat  the  priests,  permit  me  to  narrate  a 
circumstance.  There  resides  at  Clogher  a  family  by 
the  name  of  Holmes.  The  present  head  of  the  family, 
a  large  proprietor  and  humane,  was  denounced,  and,  to 
save  his  life,  he  fled  to  Dublin.  The  outrage  became 
known  to  a  younger  brother  in  the  army,  who  was 
greatly  excited  by  it.  He  hastened  home  from  Lon- 
don, and,  on  the  eve  of  a  feast-day,  called  on  the  priest, 
and  requested  him  to  ask  the  people,  after  mass  on  the 
succeeding  day,  to  remain  behind  in  the  chapel,  as  he 
had  something  to  say  to  them,  to  which  he  assented. 
Suspecting  something,  however,  the  priest  commenced 


kirwan's   letters.  203 

A  young  hero.  A  fine  speech.  Priest  strnck  dumb. 


mass  earlier  than  usual  —  hastened  through  it  —  and 
when  young  Holmes  came  to  chapel,  the  people  were 
dismissed.  He  invited  them  back  to  the  chapel,  and 
sent  for  the  priest ;  but  the  messengers  could  not  find 
him.  "  I  will  find  him,"  said  he;  and  left  the  chapel, 
but  soon  returned  with  his  reverence.  "With  the  priest 
by  his  side,  he  thus  addressed  the  people  from  one  of 
the  steps  of  the  altar.  "My  fathers  have  long  resided 
in  this  place,  and  have  they  not  always  been  the  kind 
friends  of  your  fathers  ?"  "  Yes,  yes,  your  honor,"  re- 
sounded from  all  parts  of  the  chapel.  "  My  brother  has 
succeeded  to  the  estates  here,  and  has  he  not  always 
been  a  kind  landlord  ?"  The  same  reply  echoed  from 
every  part  of  the  house.  "And  now  what  is  the  re- 
ward for  all  his,  and  all  our  fathers'  kindnesses,  which 
you  are  about  to  give  him  ?  There  are  those  eating  at 
your  tables,  sleeping  in  your  beds,  and  sheltered  in  your 
houses,  who  are  pledged  to  murder  him ;  and,  to  save 
his  life,  he  has  had  to  leave  the  home  of  his  birth.  He 
will  return  in  a  few  days  ;  and  I  stand  here  before  you, 
to  warn  you,  that  if  my  brother  goes  down  to  the  grave 
a.  murdered  man,  there  is  one  man  in  this  parish  that 
will  soon  follow  him,  and  that  man  is  this  priest,  who 
has  denounced  him  from  this  altar."  He  turned  round 
and  looked  the  priest  full  in  the  face,  who  cowered  be- 
fore him.  He  left  the  chapel,  the  people  making  way 
for  him,  without  insult  or  molestation.  His  brother 
returned  in  a  few  days  to  his  family  and  to  his  home, 
where  he  resides  at  the  present  hour,  as  safe  a  man 
from  assassination  as  there  is  in  Ireland,  as  long  as  that 
priest  and  his  brother  live  !  I  was  entertained  at  the 
hospitable  house  of  Clogher,  and  stood  on  the  altar  step 


204  kirwan's   letters. 


Cure  for  curses.  Cure  for  Ireland. 


on  which  that  young  Holmes  stood,  when,  by  his  bold 
and  manly  bearing,  he  struck  with  a  salutary  terror 
the  priest  and  his  parishioners  !  As  a  sense  of  guilt 
always  renders  men  cowardly,  denunciations  of  land- 
lords from  the  altar  have  greatly  diminished  since  the 
hero  of  Clogher  taught  them  how  to  put  a  stop  to  them. 
Romanism  and  its  priests  have  been,  and  now  are, 
the  curse  of  Ireland ;  and  the  only  cure  for  Ireland  lies  in 
their  removal.  And  can  the  curse  of  Ireland  be  a  bless- 
ing to  any  land  ?  Can  it  be,  Sir,  a  blessing  to  Amer- 
ica ?  Are  these  Father  Walshes  and  Father  O'Briens, 
these  reverend  and  right  reverend  altar-cursing  "  watch- 
men of  despotism,"  the  men  to  Christianize  and  civil- 
ize Americans — the  men  to  teach  our  people  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ,  and  the  true  way  to  heaven  ?  From  these 
ministers  of  barbarism  and  missionaries  of  darkness, 
may  the  Lord  deliver  us  and  our  posterity  ! 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


kirwan's  letters.  205 

Generation  of  vipers.  Priests  get  money. 


LETTER   XXII. 

Deceivings  of  Priests. — Nunneries. — Taking  the  Vail. — Stories  about 
Luther  and  Calvin. — Case  of  poor  Bruley. — The  Vaudois  Monsters. 
— Bridge  of  Purgatory  broken. — Father  O'Flanagan. — Why  these  de- 
ceivings?— Priests  deserve  Purgatory. 

My  dear  Sir, — You  can  readily  glean,  from  my  pre- 
ceding letters,  my  estimate  of  the  general  character  of 
Papal  priests.  "While  there  are  exceptions  to  the  rule, 
yet  I  believe,  as  a  rule,  that  they  are,  like  the  Phari- 
sees of  old,  "  a  generation  of  vipers ;"  that,  as  a  class, 
they  are  dishonest  traffickers  in  the  souls  of  men.  The 
trade  of  a  priest,  and  especially  when  a  priest  becomes 
a  bishop  or  an  archbishop,  is  an  exceedingly  lucrative 
one.  What  may  not  a  priest  squeeze  from  a  people 
whom  he  makes  believe  that  he  carries  in  his  pocket 
the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell,  and  that  he  can,  at  pleas- 
ure, admit  them  to  the  bliss  of  the  one,  or  shut  them 
up  amid  the  eternal  miseries  of  the  other  ?  And  hence 
it  is  that  these  men  so  easily  draw  gold  from  the  cof- 
fers of  the  rich,  and  extract  silver  and  coppers  even 
from  the  rasrs  of  the  most  wretched  beggars.  What 
will  not  a  man  give  to  save  his  soul  ?  And  all  their 
worldly  interests  are  involved  in  keeping  up  their  de- 
lusions, and  in  keeping  their  people  from  contact  with 
every  thing  that  would  in  the  least  degree  tend  to  dis- 
sipate them.  And  it  is  to  their  ways  of  blinding  and 
deluding  the  people,  so  as  to  stimulate  their  faith,  and 


206  kirwan's   letters. 

Ways  of  deluding.  Nuns.  Nunneries.  Taking  the  vail, 

to  protect  their  frauds  and  deceivings  from  exposure, 
that  I  ask  your  attention  in  the  present  letter.  Is 
there  a  thing  peculiar  to  Popery  which  is  not  intended 
to  delude  ? 

How  much  Popery  makes  of  nuns  and  nunneries,  to 
fire  the  imagination  of  young,  romantic  girls,  and  to  in- 
duce them  to  seek  seclusion  from  the  world  within 
monastic  walls !  The  abbess  is  a  lady  of  rank,  beauty, 
and  exquisite  taste !  The  nuns  are  all  damsels  of 
beautifal  face  and  form,  the  history  of  each  marked  by 
some  romantic  incidents  which  strongly  excite  our  in- 
terest. And  then  the  sacred  inclosure  is  such  a  charm- 
ing spot  in  which  to  cultivate  holiness,  and  where  hap- 
piness is  enjoyed  by  every  inmate,  but  little  below  that 
of  paradise  itself !  And  then  the  pomp,  show,  and  cer- 
emony of  "  taking  the  vail"  are  so  arranged  as  to  exalt 
the  heroism  and  piety  of  the  maiden  that  takes  it,  and 
as,  if  possible,  to  induce  other  maidens  to  do  likewise. 
How  the  true  history  of  any  existing  nunnery  would 
give  all  these  delusions  to  the  winds  —  would  prove 
them  to  be  the  prisons  of  confiding  girls — the  houses 
of  refuge  for  delinquent  or  disappointed  lasses,  or  for 
daughters  fleeing  from  domestic  tyranny — and  their 
parlors  to  be  the  lounging-places  of  immaculate  priests ! 
And  how  a  true  narrative  of  those  "  taking  the  vail," 
would  dissipate  all  romance  concerning  them  ! 

Seymour,  to  whose  "  Pilgrimage"  I  have  already  al- 
luded, gives  a  very  funny  account  of  a  "  taking  the 
vail,"  witnessed  by  him  in  Rome.  It  was  in  January. 
On  approaching  the  monastery,  the  street,  and  vesti- 
bule, and  church  were  strewed  with  flowers.  The 
high  altar  was  loaded  with  artificial  flowers.     The  car- 


KIRWAN 


's     LETTERS.  207 


Elegant  dress.  Jeweled  servant.  Clothes  every  thing 


dinal- vicar  took  his  seat ;  soon  the  Princess  Borghese 
entered,  leading  a  beautiful  female,  and  presented  her 
to  the  cardinal.     Her  beautiful  chestnut-colored  tresses 
fell  like  a  vail  around  her ;  her  dress  was  white  satin, 
richly  damasked   in  gold  ;    on   her  head   glittered   a 
crown  of  diamonds ;  her  neck  was  covered  with  pre- 
cious  stones,  flashing  through  her  ringlets  ;  her  breast 
was  gemmed  with  brilliants,  set  off  by  black  velvet ; 
so  that  she  sparkled  and  blazed  in  all  the  magnificence 
of  the  richest  jewels  in  Rome  !     All  took  her,  of  course, 
to  be  a  youthful  princess  of  vast  wealth,  renouncing  the 
world  for  the  cloister !     And  yet  this  beautiful  young 
woman  was  only  a  servant,  and  the  daughter  of  a  serv- 
ant, of  the  Borghese  family ;  that  splendid  hair  was 
only  a  wig  ;  the  jewelry  belonged  to  her  mistress,  who 
took  that  occasion  to  display  it ;  and  the  sweet,  lovely- 
looking  girl  in  her  dress,  when  divested  of  her  robes, 
was  a  vulgar,  clumsy,  and  unlettered  old  maid  of  forty ! 
And  such  are  usually  the  nuns  of  Popery.     And  the 
whole  scene  was  gotten  up  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  the 
woman  who  wished  to  display  her  jewels,  and  to  induce 
those  not  behind  the  curtain  to  believe  that  another  rich 
heiress  of  a  noble  house  had  renounced  the  vanities  of 
the  world  for  the  seclusion  of  a  cloister ! 

And  this  is  only  a  specimen  of  the  way  and  manner 
in  which  priests  delude  the  people  every  where  !  Take 
away  the  clothes  in  which  they  dress  their  mummery, 
and  it  would  be  only  revolting.  G-o,  Sir,  on  Christ- 
mas day,  or  any  high  day,  into  your  cathedral,  and, 
after  blowing  out  all  the^andles,  and  sending  the  boys 
with  censers  and  incense  to  their  seats,  and  taking  off 
the  robes  of  the  priests,  and  putting  to  silence  the  pro 


208  kirwan's   letters. 

Barren  foolery.  A  corpse  dressed.  Ridiculous  stories. 

fessional  singers,  cause  the  priests  to  go  through  a  high 
mass  !  Why,  Sir,  you  would  laugh  at  the  barren  fool- 
ery ;  and  "  the  awful,  mysterious,  and  holy  ceremony 
of  the  mass"  would  appear  to  you  just  as  attractive  as 
did  the  withering  old  maid,  who  was  made  a  nun,  to 
Seymour,  when  divested  of  her  robes,  her  crown,  and 
her  jewels.  Romanism  is  a  corpse,  and  its  ceremonies 
and  canonicals  are  dresses  put  on  to  hide  its  putres- 
cence, and  to  induce  belief  in  the  vulgar  that  it  is  a 
living  body.  Sure  am  I  that  if  any  sensible  mother 
would  find  her  children,  at  the  close  of  a  summer's  day, 
going  through  the  senseless  rounds  through  which  I 
have  seen  about  twenty  cardinals  go,  dressed  in  their 
scarlet  skullcaps  and  robes,  at  vespers  in  the  Sistine, 
she  would  be  disposed  to  whip  them  and  send  them  to 
bed. 

To  deceive  and  delude  their  people  it  is  that  priests 
and  monks  have  fabricated  the  most  false  and  ridicu- 
lous stories  about  the  great  and  good  men  that  have  led 
on  the  blessed  Reformation,  and  that  have  achieved  the 
civil  and  religious  liberty  which  we  enjoy.  If  they  have 
made  their  own  adherents  demigods,  they  have  made 
the  reformers  demons.  "Who  is  ignorant  of  the  Popish 
narratives  of  Luther's  conferences  with  Satan — of  the 
diabolical  agencies  which  he  wielded — and  of  his  soul, 
on  his  death,  flying  away,  leaving  something  like  a 
smell  of  brimstone  behind  it  ?  The  monkish  legends 
of  the  days  of  Luther  are  as  full  of  stories  to  prove  his 
Satanism,  as  is  the  life  of  St.  Patrick  of  ridiculous  mir- 
acles to  prove  his  sanctity.  *And  down  to  the  present 
day  an  ignorant  Papist  will  turn  away  horrified  from 
the  name  of  Luther,  as  it  is  said  a  demon  will  turn 


kirwan's   letters.  209 


Calvin.  Poor  Bruley.  Mrs.  Bruley. 

away  from  the  sign  of  the  cross,  or  from  a  sprinkling 
of  holy  salt  or  of  water. 

And   similar   stories  are   fabricated  and  circulated 
about  the  scholar  and  logician  of  the  Reformation,  the 
great  Calvin.     Here  is  the  substance  of  a  comment  on 
Exodus,  vii.,  11,  taken  from  the  Douay  Bible,  printed 
in  1635,  as  quoted  entire  by  Capper.     Calvin,  by  words 
and  money,  persuaded  a  man  in  Geneva,  by  the  name 
of  Bruley,  to  feign  himself  dead,  in  order  that,  by  a  kind 
of  Popish  exorcism  or  fraud,  he  might  bring  him  to  life. 
But,  alas  for  poor  Bruley  !  when  he  feigned  to  be  dead, 
he  absolutely  died,  and  by  a  direct  visitation  of  Provi- 
dence !   And  all  Calvin's  efforts  could  not  restore  breath 
to  his  body  !     0,  if  the  reformer  had  only  a  toe-nail  of 
St.  Anthony,  or  an  old  tooth  of  St.  Dominic,  or  some 
shreds  from  the  garments,  or  some  parings  from  the 
nails  of  some  of  the  holy  martyrs  or  virgins,  poor  Bru- 
ley might  have  lived  again !     Grood  Mrs.  Bruley  con- 
sented to  the  agreement ;   but  when  she  found  that 
Calvin  could  not  restore  her  husband,  she  was  in  a  vi- 
olent passion,  and  called  him  a  false  apostle,  and  "  a 
secret  theefe,  and  a  wicked  murderer  that  had  killed 
her  husband,"  so  that  all  Geneva  knew,  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  hysterical  Mrs.  Bruley,  that  Calvin  killed 
Bruley,  but  could  not  restore  him  to  life  !     And  stories 
like  these  against  the  reformers,  and  the  great  and  good 
men  who  have  opposed  Popery,  are  scarcely  less  nu- 
merous than  are  the  miracles  of  Mary  and  Bambino. 
And  all  for  the  sake  of  prejudicing  the  vulgar  mind 
against  their  character  and  writings. 

You,  Sir,  can  not  be  ignorant  of  the  history  of  the 
Yaudois  or  Waldensians,  who  kept  the  light  of  truth 


210  kirwan's   letters. 

Waldensians.  Prince's  visit.  Horrible  lie 

burning  for  so  many  ages  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont.' 
when  it  had  gone  out  in  nearly  all  the  earth  besides  ! 
Their  history  is  a  thrilling  one,  and  is  full  of  blood — of 
blood  shed  by  Romish  priests,  and  by  orders  from  the 
Vatican.  And  the  question  arises  how  or  why  the 
house  of  Savoy  could  turn  its  arms  so  long  and  so  cru- 
elly against  a  people  so  loyal,  so  moral,  and  so  unof- 
fending ?  It  was  because  of  the  horrid  representations 
made  by  Popish  priests  to  the  court.  On  a  certain  oc- 
casion, a  prince  of  Savoy  determined  on  a  journey 
among  the  valleys  of  this  wonderful  people,  of  whom 
the  burning  bush,  as  seen  by  Moses,  was  a  fit  emblem. 
Standing  by  the  first  Vaudois  house  to  which  he  came, 
he  saw  a  fine,  healthy,  well-formed  boy,  whose  appear- 
ance excited  his  astonishment.  He  sent  for  the  pa- 
rents, who,  with  their  other  children,  came  around  him. 
His  astonishment  increased.  He  spoke  with  them, 
and  found  them  intelligent,  well  informed,  and  loyal. 
"  And  are  all  your  people  formed  like  you  ?"  said  the 
prince  to  the  peasant.  "  Yes,  all,"  was  the  reply. 
He  made  them  open  their  mouths,  that  he  might  see 
their  teeth,  when  there  was  an  increase  of  his  wonder. 
"  How  is  this  ?"  said  he,  turning  to  his  attendants  ; 
' '  we  have  been  always  informed  by  our  priests  that 
these  people  were  monsters — that  they  had  but  one 
eye,  which  was  in  the  middle  of  their  foreheads — and 
that  they  had  double  rows  of  teeth ;  and,  instead  of 
finding  them  the  horrible  creatures  which  we  have  been 
informed  they  were,  we  find  them  in  form,  and  fash- 
ion, and  mind  like  ourselves." 

Here,  Sir,  is  the  secret  of  the  barbarity  of  the  prin- 
ces of  Savoy  to  the  Waldensian  people.     That  people 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  211 

Priest's  revenge.  Harpies.  Cry  of  blood. 

refused  to  bow  their  necks  to  the  Papal  yoke  ;  they 
would  not  surrender  the  Bible  for  the  Missal ;  with 
hearts  as  firm  as  the  towering  Alps,  amid  whose  val- 
leys they  reside,  they  resisted  every  effort  to  induce 
them  to  surrender  their  ancient  faith ;  and  hence  the 
baffled  priests  represented  them  as  monsters — as  the 
descendants,  perhaps,  of  the  Harpies,  so  intolerably  dis- 
gusting, as  sung  by  Virgil.  Nor  have  I  a  doubt  but 
that  the  princes  who  sent  their  armies  into  those  peace- 
ful valleys,  with  orders  to  spare  neither  age  nor  sex, 
were  deluded  by  wicked  priests  into  the  belief  that 
they  were  seeking  to  extirpate  a  race  of  monsters  from 
the  earth,  instead  of  slaughtering  a  race  of  Christians, 
as  simple,  as  pious,  as  harmless,  as  steadfast,  as  heroic 
as  any  which  the  world  has  ever  known.  And  as  I 
recently  wandered  along  the  banks  of  the  Po,  whose 
waters  were  once  crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  slaugh- 
tered Waldensians,  and  rode  along  the  valleys  through 
which  the  minions  of  the  Pope  so  often  carried  fire  and 
sword,  I  almost  imagined  that  I  could  hear  the  blood 
of  the  slain  crying  to  Heaven,  and  saying, 

"Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold  ; 
Even  those  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshiped  stocks  and  stones. 
♦Forget  not — in  thy  book  record  their  groans — 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold, 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese,  that  rolled 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks." 

Nor,  Sir,  has  this  method  of  deluding  the  people  been 
surrendered  by  the  priests.  It  is  practiced,  where  it 
can  be,  in  all  shapes  and  forms  in  our  own  day.  M  I 
was  traveling  up  to  our  valleys  in  my  char-a-banc," 


^12  kirwan's   letters. 

Pastor's  ride.  Priest's  duty.  Father  confessors. 

.  .4 

said  the  interesting  vaudois  pastor  of\Turin  to  me, 
"  and  took  in  a  plain  man  that  I  overtook  on  the  way. 
1  soon  found  that  he  was  a  Papist.  After  some  con- 
versation, he  asked  me  where  I  was  going  ?  I  told 
him  I  was  going  on  a  visit  to  our  people.  He  asked 
me  if  I  was  a  AValdensian  ;  and  on  telling  him  that  I 
was,  he  eyed  me  from  head  to  foot  with  astonishment. 
Seeing  no  deadly  weapons  ahout  me,  and  as  I  treated 
him* in  the  kindest  manner,  he  became  somewhat  com- 
posed ;  hut  he  finally  left  my  carriage,  preferring  to 
walk  rather  than  to  continue  in  so  doubtful,  if  not  dan- 
gerous a  position  as  that  of  riding  with  a  leader  among 
a  people  respecting  whom  the  priests  told  him  so  many 
monstrous  stories."  Indeed,  one  of  the  chief  duties  of 
the  priests  is  to  sow  jealousies  and  hatred  among  their 
people  toward  all  who  are  not  Papists.  To  what  an 
awful  extent  this  is  carried  in  Ireland,  where,  until  re- 
cently, the  Papist  regarded  the  Protestant  as  his  deadly 
enemy  !  See  how  Protestant  ministers  are  denounced, 
and  Protestant  books  forbidden,  and  Protestant  schools 
abandoned — see  how,  even  in  our  free  and  happy  land, 
the  priests  teach  their  people  to  look  upon  every  thing 
Protestant  as  white  with  leprosy.  How  soon  do  our 
Protestants  see,  in  the  altered  demeanor  of  their  serv- 
ants, the  bad  influences  of  those  "  father  confessors," 
who  go  prowling  after  silly  Irish  men  and  women 
through  the  country,  scaring  them  up  to  confess  their 
sins,  and  to  pay  for  the  privilege  ! 

Nor  are  even  their  own  people  exempt  from  the  de- 
ceivings  of  the  priests,  who  feel  that  they  have  a  divine 
warrant  to  fleece  their  flocks  as  they  can,  and  to  par- 
don one  another  when  they  sin.     I  will  not  vouch  for 


kirwan's   letters.  213 


The  beer  man.  Bridge  of  Purgatory.  A  dinner  party. 

the  truth  of  the  following  story,  but  I  will  give  it  to 
you  just  as  I  received  it  from  the  lips  of  one  of  the 
most  honored  and  eloquent  ministers  of  Britain,  whose 
name  is  known  and  revered  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic. He  asserted  its  entire  truth.  There  lived  a 
poor  man,  in  one  of  the  cities  of  Britain,  who  made  his 
support  by  selling  beer.  He  was  honest,  and  punctual 
in  his  payments,  and  won  the  entire  confidence  of  the 
brewer.  He  died  ;  and,  as  the  priest  stated,  his  soul 
went  to  Pursmtorv.  His  widow  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness,  and  sent  for  one  barrel  of  beer  after  another,  un- 
til she  was  in  debt  to  the  brewer  about  one  hundred 
pounds.  The  brewer,  who  was  a  Papist,  went  to  make 
inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  this  large  indebtedness.  "  And 
have  you  not  heard  of  the  terrible  accident  that  has 
happened?"  said  the  woman  "What  is  it?"  asked 
the  brewer.  "  The  bridge  of  Purgatory  is  broken,"  was 
the  reply,  "and  it  takes  a  deal  df  money  to  repair  it; 
and  Father  O'Flanagan  is  very  faithful  in  collecting 
money  to  repair  it,  bless  his  soul ;  and  when  the  bridge 
is  finished,  so  that  my  poor  husband  can  get  across,  then 
I  will  strive  to  pay  you  all." 

The  brewer  did  not  like  to  be  thus  swindled  through 
the  priest,  and  laid  his  plans  to  get  his  money.  He 
made  a  large  dinner  party,  to  which  he  invited  the  bish- 
op, several  priests,  among  whom  was  Father  O'Flan- 
agan, and  a  few  other  friends.  After  the  punch  began 
to  work  a  little,  he  rung  a  bell,  which  was  the  signal 
for  the  introduction  of  the  widow  from  the  beer-shop. 
"  Have  you  heard,  your  reverence,"  said  the  brewer  to 
the  bishop,  "  of  the  awful  accident  that  has  occurred  ?" 
"What  is  it?"  said  the  bishop,  with  excited  interest. 


214  kirwan's  letters. 


Father  O'Flanagan.  A  check.  Purgatory  profitable. 

"  Father  O'Flanagan,  will  you  tell  the  bishop  about 
the  breaking  down  of  the  bridge  of  Purgatory  ?"  said 
the  brewer.     Father  O'Flanagan  blushed,  looked  at  the 
woman,  and  then  into  his  tumbler  of  punch,  and  was 
silent.     The  fraud  was  revealed  ;  there  was  the  poor 
woman  to  prove  its  truth ;  and  the  brewer  declared 
that  unless  the  one  hundred  pounds  were  paid  down, 
he  would  expose  the  whole  affair.     The  bishop  gave 
his  check  for  the  amount — the  old  beer- woman  was 
glad  —  the  party  broke  up  ;  and  the  breaking  of  the 
bridge  of  Purgatory  cured  the  brewer  of  his  Popery.     1 
confess  to  you,  Sir,  that  the  story  seemed  to  me  incred- 
ible when  I  heard  it,  and  I  was  for  placing  it  on  the 
same  shelf  with  the  monkish  stories  about  Luther  and 
Calvin  ;  but  after  seeing  what  I  saw,  and  hearing  what 
I  heard  in  Naples,  Rome,  Sardinia,  and  Ireland — after 
a  more  extended  acquaintance  with  the  profligacy  of 
priests,  their  want  of  principle,  and  their  love  of  money, 
I  see  no  reason,  in  the  nature  of  things,  to  doubt  the 
story  of  the  Rev.  Father  O'Flanagan.     Sure  I  am  that 
the  fiction  of  Purgatory  is  made  to  yield  millions  every 
year  to  the  priests,  and  in  ways  no  more  justifiable  than 
that  adopted  with  the  poor  widow  that  sold  beer. 

Such  are  the  ways  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
priests  of  Romanism  seek  to  deceive,  to  delude,  and  to 
prejudice  the  minds  of  their  people  ;  and  all  for  the 
base  purpose  of  continuing  their  own  bad  dominion, 
and  of  preventing  the  people  from  coming  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.  No  Grospel  truth  is  left  unclouded 
— no  good  man  is  left  unabused — no  good  book  is  left 
out  of  the  Index — bonfires  are  made  of  Bibles — no  seed 
that  can  bear  the  fruit  of  discord  is  left  unsown — fables 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  215 


Stop  at  nothing.  Passing  events.  Man  in  the  Almanac. 


are  manufactured  without  end — miracles  are  made  to 
order — history  and  philosophy  are  libeled  —  Bacon  is 
made  a  dunce — Luther  a  devil — and  Cranmer  a  knave, 
when  required  to  keep  the  people  in  shackles,  to  oppose 
the  influence  of  Protestantism,  or  to  make  people  pass 
to  heaven  through  the  toll-gate  of  the  priest.     I  have 
just  charity  enough  for  them  to  believe  that  they  will 
stop  at  nothing  that  promotes  their  ends — that  they  will 
respect  no  law  of  religion,  humanity,  or  propriety  that 
will  cross  their  path.     This  will  seem  to  you,  and  to 
many  of  my  readers,  very  uncharitable  ;  but  I  appeal 
to  the  history  of  Romanism  in  all  lands  for  its  correct- 
ness.    I  appeal  to  the  events  now  transpiring  in  Naples, 
Rome,  Florence,  and  Ireland,  to  sustain  me.     If  you,. 
Sir,  with  your  high  reputation,  should,  on  the  perusal 
of  these  letters,  openly  declare  yourself  Protestant,  they 
would  serve  you  here,  as  they  have  done  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk  in  England  on  his  recent  renunciation  of  Pop- 
ery.    There  is  not  a  priest  or  a  Protestant  renegade 
that  can  scribble  a  line,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
that  would  not  be  out  upon  you  ;  and  if  they  would  not 
transfix  you,  as  is  the  man  in  the  Almanac,  into  whom 
the  signs  of  the  zodiac  are  pouring  their  arrows,  it  is 
because,  like  Achilles,  you  were  baptized  in  the  Styx. 
And  why  is  it,  Sir,  that  Papal  priests  resort  to  these 
frauds  and  deceivings  ?     Why  is  it  they  seek  to  prej- 
udice their  people  against  all  other  people,  and  to  sep- 
arate them  from  all  the  humanizing  influences  of  relist 
ious  and  social  intercourse  ?     Why  is  it  they  prevent 
their  people  from  thinking — from  examining  for  them- 
selves  truths   and  topics  which  demand  our  belief? 
They  know  the  feebleness  of  their  position,  and  the 


216  kirwan's   letters. 


Priests  deserve  Purgatory. 


weakness  of  their  cause  ;  and  that,  unless  they  hedge 
up  their  people  on  all  sides,  their  craft  is  gone. 

I  would  not  do  these  priests  evil.  "Were  it  in  my 
power,  I  would  convert  them  all.  But  if  there  is  a  class 
of  persons  living  that  deserve  a  good  long  residence  in 
Purgatory,  they  are  the  men.  And  should  they  go 
there,  and  should  the  bridge  break  down,  I  would  not 
give  Father  0' Flanagan  a  penny  to  build  it — at  least 
for  one  year. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


kirwan's  letters. 


217 


Spirit  of  Romanism.  Unchanged.  Can  not  change. 


LETTER    XXIII. 

Rome  Intolerant. — Persecutions  sanctioned. — Bishops  sworn  to  per 
secute — Deposed  if  they  do  not. — Wiseman's  reply. — Proofs  of  In 
tolerance — Waldenses  —  Castelnau  —  Bezieres  —  Morland's  Address 
— St.  Bartholomew — Edict  of  Nantes  revoked — Irish  Massacre  of 
1641 — other  Evidences. — Two. Skins. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  desire  in  the  present  letter  to  ask 
your  attention,  and  that  of  my  readers,  to  the  spirit 
which  Romanism  cherishes  and  manifests  toward  all 
who  deny  its  claims  and  reject  its  dogmas.  Unless  1 
mistake  the  character  of  your  mind,  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  it  is  only  cruel  in  principle  and  in  action. 

But  you  will  meet  me  at  the  threshold  with  the  state- 
ment that  Romanism  has  greatly  changed  in  these  lat- 
ter days,  both  in  its  principles  and  conduct.  If  so, 
where  is  her  infallibility  ?  If  so,  her  main  foundation 
is  gone.  No,  Sir  ;  her  infallibility  places  her  beyond 
the  reach  of  improvement,  and  stereotypes  equally  her 
truth  and  her  falsehood,  her  divinity  and  her  demonism. 
Nor  will  she  thank  you,  or  any  body  else,  for  excusing 
her  on  the  ground  of  a  change  of  principle,  as  such  an 
excuse  stultifies  her  boast,  and  subjects  her  pretensions 
to  the  ridicule  of  all  men.  I  admit  that  in  this,  and 
many  countries  of  Europe,  she  can  not  indulge  her 
ferocious  spirit,  or  even  openly  avow  her  principles  ; 
but  is  forced  quietness  any  evidence  of  a  change  of 
principle  ?     Do  you  not  know  that  opinions  are  often 

K 


218  KIRWAN7S    LETTERS. 

The  inquisitor's  heart.  Principles.  Church  sanction. 

cherished  which  can  not  be  defended,  and  that  a  wick- 
ed spirit  often  rages  the  more  intensely  because  it  can 
not  give  vent  to  its  fury  ?  I  assure  you  that  even 
among  ourselves  the  heart  of  an  inquisitor  lies  conceal- 
ed under  the  long  coat  of  many  an  imported  priest ; 
and  that,  should  circumstances  permit,  we  would  have 
our  Dominies  and  Torquemadas  in  New  York  as  in 
Rome,  in  Baltimore  as  in  Seville,  and  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Tagus 
or  the  Duero.  Because  burning  stones  are  not  shoot- 
ing upward  from  its  summit,  and  rivers  of  burning  lava 
are  not  flowing  down  its  sides,  we  must  not  conclude 
that  the  internal  fires  of  old  Vesuvius  are  extinguished. 

The  vengeful  and  persecuting  spirit  which  Rome  has 
exhibited  is  characteristic,  and  is  founded  on  her  prin- 
ciples. This  spirit  has  received  the  sanction  of  Popes 
and  councils,  and  is  therefore  among  the  things  upon 
which  the  Church  has  pronounced  its  infallible  decis- 
ions. If  Pius  IX.  pronounces  against  persecution,  what 
becomes  of  the  infallibility  of  Lucius  III.,  who  issued 
a  bull  authorizing  it  and  exhorting:  to  it  ?  If  a  coun- 
cil  should  now  pronounce  against  persecution,  what  be- 
comes of  the  infallibility  of  the  famous  Lateran  Coun- 
cil of  1215,  or  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  or  of  the  many 
other  councils  that  sanctioned  it  ?  Indeed,  the  priest 
that  would  assert  that  Romanism  has  changed  her  prin- 
ciples on  the  subject  of  persecution,  would  be  sent  by 
his  bishop  to  Jericho  until  his  beard  or  his  brains  grew. 

This  spirit  of  persecution  is  taught  in  the  Canon  Law 
of  the  "Church,  which  is  made  up  of  the  decrees  of 
councils,  the  bulls  and  decretals  of  Popes,  and  the 
writings  of  the  I&thers — a  law  under  which  every  Pa- 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  219 


Canon  law.  Bishop's  oath.  They  keep  it 

pist  is  placed,  and  which  the  officers  of  the  Church  are 
hound  to  administer.  And  this  law,  as  you  must  know, 
is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  Pope's  authority- 
extends  over  all  nominal  Christians,  and  that  none  of 
us,  by  any  dissent,  can  place  ourselves  beyond  his  juris- 
diction, or  beyond  the  reach  of  this  law  !  So  that  all 
of  us  who  call  ourselves  Christians,  and  who  submit 
not  to  the  Pope,  are  to  be  dealt  with  as  heretics,  and 
in  the  way  and  fashion  which  this  law  prescribes  !  And 
as  bishops  are  the  chief  police-officers  of  the  Pope  for 
enforcing  the  Canon  Law,  and  for  inflicting  its  pains 
and  penalties,  before  they  receive  the  mitre  or  the  pal- 
lium, made  from  the  wool  of  holy  sheep,  they  are 
obliged  to  swear  as  follows  :  "  Heretics,  schismatics,  or 
rebels  against  our  lord  the  Pope,  or  his  successors,  I 
will  persecute  and  fight  against  to  the  utmost  of  my 
power."  And  lest  an  oath  should  be  disregarded,  it  is 
provided,  "that  if  a  bishop  shall  have  been  negligent 
or  remiss  in  purging  his  diocese  of  heretical  pravity,  as 
soon  as  this  is  made  apparent  by  sure  evidence,  he  shall 
be  deposed  from,  his  episcopal  office,  and  in  his  place 
shall  be  substituted  a  fit  person  who  will  and  can  con- 
found the  heretical  pravity."  The  effects  of  this  oath, 
and  of  this  threat  to  keep  up  its  remembrance,  the 
world  knows.  Bishops  have  been  the  butchers  of  here- 
tics— that  is,  of  Protestant  Christians.  To  prove  their 
fidelity  to  their  oath,  and  to  retain  their  mitre  upon 
their  brow,  they  have  in  cruelty  out-Heroded  Herod, 
and  out-Neroed  Nero.  They  have  stained  all  their  gar- 
ments in  blood,  and  have  pronounced  the  benedictions 
of  Heaven  upon  men  who  have  shed  the  blood  of  their 
fellow-men,  and  for  no  earthly  reason  but  their  rejec- 


220  kirwan's   letters. 

i 

Cardinal  Wiseman.  Veracity.  How  with  our  bishops. 


tion  of  the  frivolous,  and  contemptible,  and  unreason- 
able dogmas  of  the  priest. 

To  this  oath,  taken  by  bishops  when  receiving  their 
badges  of  office  from  their  lord  and  master,  some  at- 
tention has  been  recently  excited  in  England.  Cardi- 
nal Wiseman  has  been  catechized  in  reference  to  it ; 
and  although  the  policy  of  bishops  is  to  answer  no  ques- 
tions, yet  he  was  so  questioned  as  to  compel  a  reply. 
And  what,  think  you,  was  his  reply  ?  He  did  not  deny 
the  taking  of  such  an  oath,  for  the  oath  itself  could  be 
produced ;  but  he  asserted  that,  when  administered  to 
British  bishops,  the  above  clause  was  omitted  !  The 
veracity  of  Nicholas  of  Westminster  on  this  point  has 
been  called  in  question  by  some,  but  with  that  you  and 
I  have  little  to  do.  If  the  fact  is  as  he  states,  it  is  a 
full  admission  that  the  clause  is  in  the  oath.  And,  if 
possible,  I  should  like  you  to  find  out  whether  the  grace 
extended  to  England  by  the  Holy  Apostolic  See  has 
also  been  extended  to  us  in  this  heretical  land  ;  wheth- 
er slippery  John  of  New  York,  and  the  "  Yery  Rev.  P. 
R.  Kenrick,  V.  G-.,"  author  of  the  wonderfully  erudite 
book,  "  The  Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  were  so  kind  to- 
ward us  as  to  ask  to  have  that  clause  omitted  when 
they  renounced  their  manhood,  and  swTore  allegiance  to 
the  despotism  of  Rome.  Is  the  oath  upon  their  souls 
"  to  persecute  and  fight  against  us  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power  ?"     I  firmly  believe  it  is. 

So  that  Rome  persecutes  on  principle,  and  swears  all 
her  bishops  "  to  persecute  all  heretics  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power ;"  and  when  she  renounces  the  principles 
of  persecution,  she  ceases  to  be  an  infallible  Church. 
To  sustain  her  character,  she  is  bound  to  persecute 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  221 

Fearful  dilemma.  Testimony.  Waldcnses. 

whenever  and  wherever  she  can.  To  amend  or  reform 
her  principles  will  be  her  death,  and  without  benefit 
of  clergy.  How  fearful  the  position  in  which  her  in- 
fallibility places  her ;  her  only  alternative  is  death  or 
intolerance,  and  the  dilemma  of  her  bishops  is  perjury 
or  persecution.     Horrible  system  ! 

And  what  a  mass  of  testimony  does  the  history  of 
the  world  furnish  to  prove  her  fidelity  to  her  principles, 
and  the  sleepless  perseverance  of  her  bishops  in  "  per- 
secuting and  fighting  against  heretics,  schismatics,  and 
rebels  against  our  lord  the  Pope  !"  She  has  set  up  a 
system  of  belief  not  merely  differing  from,  but  in  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  the  Scriptures,  and  has  imposed  it  on 
the  world  as  of  divine  authority.  While  she  has  for- 
bidden the  Bible  to  the  people,  she  commands  subjec- 
tion to  her  own  system,  which  the  vast  majority  of 
men  can  not  comprehend.  Without  their  consent,  she 
has  subjected  to  her  authority  all  living  within  the 
shadow  of  her  sceptre,  and  has  subjected  to^he  sever- 
est penalties  all  who  refuse  her  obedience.  Romish 
persecution  of  those  who  could  not  receive  as  doctrines 
of  Grod  her  awful  assumptions  and  silly  ceremonials, 
have  been  the  most  bloody  and  savage  which  the  world 
has  ever  witnessed.  Arid  where,  in  proof  of  this,  shall 
we  commence  our  historic  evidence  ? 

Shall  we  begin  with  the  Waldenses  ?  The  history 
of  this  people  lies  before  me.  Cooped  up  in  secluded 
valleys,  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  they  are  supposed  to 
be  the  descendants  of  Christians  who  sought  refuge 
from  the  barbarian  hordes  that  ravaged  Italy  during 
the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire.  They  were  a  peo- 
ple simple,  industrious,  pious,  scriptural  in  their  faith 


222  kirwan's  letters. 

Bloodhounds.  Castelnau.  Bezieres  sacked. 

and  worship,  and  most  unoffending  in  their  conduct  to 
all  men.  In  two  things  they  were  as  immovable  as 
the  Alps  :  they  would  not  give  up  their  Bibles,  nor  ac- 
knowledge the  claims  of  the  Pope.  These  were  their 
only  offenses,  and  for  these  they  were  declared  heretics, 
and  the  bloodhounds  of  Rome,  the  bishops  and  inquis- 
itors, were  let  loose  on  them.  Two  vagabond  and  bru- 
tal monks  were  sent  from  Rome  to  see  that  justice  was 
meted  out  to  the  heretics.  They  deposed  the  kind 
bishops  of  the  district  for  permitting  the  heresy,  and 
substituted  wolves  in  their  place.  Castelnau,  a  man 
of  cruel  heart,  was  sent  as  legate.  Raymond  of  Tou- 
louse was  excommunicated  because  he  refused  to  join 
in  the  bloody  crusade,  but  was  made  finally  to  consent 
by  the  cruel  treatment  of  the  Pope  and  Castelnau. 
% About  three  hundred  thousand  men  were  let  loose  upon 
this  people,  to  punish  them  for  the  sin  of  worshiping 
(rod  as  did  their  fathers  and  the  apostles.  The  first 
outburst  G£  their  fury  was  on  the  town  of  Bezieres,  con- 
taining about  sixty  thousand  persons.  The  legate  gave 
up  the  people  to  slaughter,  and  the  town  to  pillage  and 
flames.  "  But  how,"  said  an  officer,  "  can  we  distin- 
guish the  Catholic  from  the  heretic  ?"  And  what  was 
the  reply  of  the  atrocious  legate,  Castelnau  ?  It  is 
known,  to  the  confusion  of  Rome,  in  all  the  earth : 
"Kill  all;  the  Lord  will  know  his  own?''  And  every 
being  was  slain,  and  the  town  was  consumed  by  fire ! 
And  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  sorrows.  For 
nearly  fifty  years  was  this  carnage  continued.  Battle 
followed  battle — city  was  burned  after  city — valley 
was  entered  after  valley,  until  the  rugged  yet  fair  her- 
itage of  this  pious  and  simple  people  was  converted 


kirwan's   letters.  223 

A  million  slain.  Morland.  St.  Bartholomew. 

into  a  howling  wilderness — until  a  million  of  their 
number,  under  the  sabre  and  tread  of  the  minions  of 
Popery,  were  made  to  bite  the  dust !  After  reciting  a 
list  of  barbarities,  Morland,  the  high-minded  envoy  of 
Cromwell  to  Turin,  thus  addressed  the  Duke  of  Savoy : 
"  What  need  I  mention  more,  though  I  could  reckon 
up  very  many  cruelties  of  the  same  kind,  if  I  were  not 
astonished  at  the  very  thought  of  them.  If  all  the  ty- 
rants of  all  times  and  ages  were  alive  again,  they  would 
be  ashamed  when  they  should  find  that  they  had  con- 
trived nothing  in  comparison  with  these  tilings  that 
might  be  reputed  barbarous  and  inhuman.  Heaven 
itself  seems  astonished  with  the  crimes  of  dying  men, 
and  the  very  earth  to  blush,  being  discolored  with  the 
gore-blood  of  so  many  innocent  persons."  And  all  the 
guilt  of  this  enormous  barbarity  lies  on  the  soul  of  the 
Papal  Church.  0,  Sir,  if  you  have  never  read,  do  read 
the  history  of  the  Waldenses.  It  has  more  than  the 
interest  of  fiction,  and  is  a  fearful  argument  against 
Popery. 

Shall  we  next  consider  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew, in  France,  and  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  ?  Every  thing  had  been  arranged  by  the  per- 
fidious Catharine  and  her  son  Charles  IX.  for  the  slaugh- 
ter of  the  Huguenots.  A  royal  marriage  was  arranged 
for  the  purpose  of  collecting  in  Paris  the  chief  Prot- 
estant nobility  of  the  kingdom.  Coligny  lay  in  his 
chamber,  wounded  by  the  hired  assassin  of  the  court ; 
Mauravel,  surrounded  bv  his  friends — the  houses  of  the 
Protestants  were  all  marked — the  badges  of  the  mur- 
derers were  all  arranged — the  houses  of  Papists  were 
supplied  with  torches — arms  were  supplied  to  the  as- 


224  kirwan's   letters. 

The  signal.  Coligny.  Paris  a  slaughterhouse. 

sassins,  and  at  midnight  the  alarm-hell  was  rung  from 
St.  Germain.  At  the  concerted  signal,  the  Palais,  the 
Tuileries,  the  hanks  of  the  Seine,  the  public  places,  the 
streets,  the  large  edifices,  sacred  and  profane,  hecame 
illuminated  as  if  hy  magic.  In  almost  every  window 
there  was  a  Mazing  torch.  And  this  sudden  Haze  was 
to  illumine  the  path  of  the  murderers  to  the  houses  of 
their  victims.  The  noble  and  wounded  Coligny,  and 
up  to  his  death  caressed  and  flattered  hy  the  queen- 
mother  and  her  son,  was  the  first  victim.  He  fell  un- 
der the  sabres  and  daggers  of  Besme,  Petrucci,  and 
Sarlabous.  Tired  of  waiting  the  result,  Henry  of  Gruise 
called  from  below,  "  Besme,  have  you  done  ?"  "  It  is 
done,"  was  the  reply  ;  and  then,  taking  the  dead  body, 
they  threw  it  out  of  the  window,  that  Henry  might 
judge  for  himself.  The  shouts  of  the  murderers  urg- 
ing each  other  to  blood,  and  the  wailings  of  men,  wom- 
en, and  children,  as  they  were  falling  beneath  their 
blows,  were  heard  in  every  street  and  lane  of  Paris. 
The  bright  sun  of  the  24th  of  August,  1572,  revealed 
the  city  converted  into  a  vast  slaughter-house.  The 
massacre  continued  seven  days  in  Paris.  From  the 
capital  it  extended  to  the  provinces ;  nor  for  two 
months  was  the  murderous  sword  returned  to  the  scab- 
bard ;  nor  until,  according  to  Sully,  seventy  thousand, 
or,  according  to  Perefixe,  one  hundred  thousand  Prot- 
estants were  slain.  And  how  were  the  tidings  of  this 
bloody  sacrifice  to  the  Moloch  of  Popery,  which  spread 
consternation  through  the  world,  received  at  Rome  ? 
With  thanksgivings  to  Heaven,  and  with  the  roaring 
of  cannon  from  its  walls.  A  Te  Deum  was  sung,  at 
which  the  Pope  and  his  court  attended ;  a  medal  was 


kirwan's   letters.  225 

Picture  in  the  Vatican.  Louis  XIV.  Cruelties. 

struck  to  commemorate  the  event ;  and  a  picture  of 
the  massacre  was  added  to  the  embellishments  of  the 
Vatican,  to  commemorate  to  all  ages  the  triumph  of 
the  Church  over  her  enemies  !  Upon  that  picture,  Sir, 
I  have  gazed  with  mine  own  eyes  in  the  ante-room  of 
the  Sistine ;  and  if  Rome  has  changed  her  principles 
on  persecution,  why  permit  that  picture  to  perpetuate 
her  shame  ? 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  was  followed  by 
fearful  civil  wars,  in  which  it  is  supposed  that  one 
million  of  men  were  slain.  These  were  brought  to  a 
close  by  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  published  by  Henry  IV. 
in  1598,  and  which  secured  to  the  Protestants  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion.  But  Henry  was  murdered  ; 
and  his  illustrious  minister,  Sully,  was  exchanged  for 
the  priest,  Richelieu.  The  Jesuits  got  the  ear  of  Louis 
XIV.,  and  soon  clouds  of  portentous  aspect  were  seen 
rapidly  collecting  over  the  Huguenots.  They  were  re- 
moved from  office.  Their  churches  were  torn  down. 
They  were  prevented  from  assembling  for  worship. 
Their  children  were  torn  from  them  at  seven  years  of 
age  by  the  priests,  to  be  educated  as  Papists.  These 
cruelties  drove  them  to  despair.  They  emigrated  in 
great  numbers.  Soon  they  were  prevented  from  leav- 
ing the  country  ;  their  ministers  were  executed  ;  boot- 
ed and  spurred  missionaries  were  every  where  among 
the  people  ;  the  sick,  who  recovered  after  refusing  the 
sacraments  of  Romanism,  if  men,  were  sent  to  the 
galleys,  and  if  women,  to  perpetual  imprisonment  and 
to  penances ;  and  if  they  died  without  submission  to 
the  Church,  their  dead  bodies  were  to  be  drawn  on  a 
hurdle*  and  cast  upon  a  dung-heap  !     These  awful  sc- 

K2 


226  kirwan's   letters. 

Huguenots  scattered.  Irish  massacre.  Lough  Erne. 


verities  soon  reduced  the  Huguenots  to  the  verge  of 
total  extinction  ;  and  from  beginning  to  end  they  were 
instigated,  and  in  great  part  inflicted  by  Romish  priests. 
In  the  funeral  oration  of  Flechier  for  Le  Tellier  the 
Jesuit,  he  ascribes  to  him  the  high  honor  of  being  the 
author'  of  that  "  work  of  Grod,"  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  and  of  the  bloody  cruelties  that  fol- 
lowed ! 

Shall  we  next  consider  the  Irish  St.  Bartholomew  of 
1641  ?  The  chapter  is  a  bloody  one.  Fired  by  their 
priests,  and  by  the  Popish  gentry  whose  property  had 
been  confiscated  during  preceding  disturbances,  a  plan 
was  concerted,  to  which  the  perfidious  Charles  was  no 
stranger,  to  cut  off  the  Protestants  of  the  island.  A 
chief  actor  in  the  bloody  tragedy  was  Ever  M'Mahon, 
Romish  bishop  of  Down,  who  was  true  to  his  oath  "to 
persecute  and  fight  against  heretics  to  the  utmost  of 
his  power."  Bad  as  was  that  of  France,  the  Irish  Bar- 
tholomew was  worse.  I  shudder  while  I  quote  from 
histories  before  me  some  of  the  narratives  connected 
with  this  tragedy.  On  the  Sabbath  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  massacre,  the  priests  gave  the  wafer 
to  the  people,  and  sent  them  out  with  an  exhortation 
to  kill  the  Protestants,  and  to  seize  their  property,  as  a 
certain  preservative  against  the  pains  of  Purgatory  !  A 
company  of  nearly  one  hundred,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, were  driven  upon  the  ice  on  Lough  Erne  ;  having 
pushed  them  as  far  as  they  could  go  in  safety,  they 
flung  the  infants,  torn  from  their  mothers'  arms,  toward 
the  point  where  the  ice  was  weakest,  and,  in  seeking 
to  rescue  them,  all  perished  save  two.  Women  were 
stripped  naked,  and  sent  into  the  woods — 1»  perish. 


kirwan's    letters.  227 

Various  deaths.  Sir  W.  Jones.  Other  testimony 

«_ . . — 

Many  were  sportfully  drowned  ;  many  hung ;  many 
stabbed  to  death ;  many  boiled  and  roasted  ;  many 
were  hewn  to  pieces ;  many  had  their  bellies  ripped 
up,  and  their  bowels  torn  out ;  many  were  driven  into 
houses,  and  were  burned  in  them  ;  many  were  torn  to 
pieces  with  dogs  ;  and  in  some  cases,  one  end  of  the  in- 
testines was  tied  to  a  tree,  and  the  person  was  driven 
round  the  tree  until  his  bowels  were  all  torn  out !  The 
account  of  the  numbers  who  thus  cruelly  perished 
varies  ;  but  some  judicious  historians  say  that  it  could 
not  be  less  than  200,000.  Of  this  awful  massacre,  Sir 
William  Jones  says,  "  If  we  look  into  the  sufferings 
of  the  first  Christians  under  the  cruel  tyranny  of  the 
heathen  emperors,  we  shall  not  find  any  one  kingdom, 
though  of  a  far  larger  extent  than  Ireland,  where  more 
Christians  suffered,  or  more  unparalleled  cruelties  were 
acted  within  the  space  of  the  first  two  months  after  the 
breaking  out  of  this  rebellion."  Eastern  barbarians 
never  inflicted  upon  the  most  base  wretches  such  exe- 
crable cruelty.  And  all  the  blood  there  shed  lies  upon 
the  soul,  if  soul  it  has,  of  the  Papal  Church. 

But,  Sir,  the  time  would  fail  me,  as  would  your  pa- 
tience and  that  of  my  readers,  to  give,  in  testimony, 
the  persecutions  of  Italy,  of  Spain,  of  Poland,  of  Aus- 
tria, of  Bavaria  ;  or,  coming  down  to  our  own  times,  of 
Zillerthal,  of  Madeira ;  or,  coming  down  to  our  own  day, 
of  Florence,  of  Naples,  of  France,  of  Ireland.  The  prin- 
ciples of  Popery  are  unchanged,  and  so  is  her  conduct 
where  she  can  wisely  carry  out  her  principles.  Did  she 
not  put  up  the  Inquisition  as  a  slaughter-house  for  her- 
etics, and  is  not  the  Inquisition  vindicated  in  a  work 
dedicated  to  yourself,  and  does  not  the  Papal  Church 


228  kirwan's  letters. 

Auto  da  fe.  No  letting  off.  See  !  See  I 

now  send  the  whole  Protestant  world  to  perdition  ? 
And  what  better  is  this  than  making  a  great  auto  da 
fe — piling  up  the  dry  stubble  as  mountains,  binding 
millions  of  Protestants  upon  the  pile,  and  then  com- 
manding the  Grod  of  heaven  to  apply  the  torch,  and 
consume  them  all !  Why,  Sir,  the  cruelties  of  the 
French  or  of  the  Irish  St.  Bartholomew  are  mercy  when 
compared  to  this  !  It  is  the  very  sublime  of  the  hor- 
rible ! 

I  would  not  be  guilty  of  the  unfairness  of  making 
the  children  accountable  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers 
when  they  reject  their  principles  and  abandon  their 
practices  ;  but  when  they  hold  their  principles,  and  ex- 
cuse their  practices,  and  walk  in  their  footsteps  where 
and  when  they  can,  then  there  is  no  letting  of  them 
off.  The  most  barbarous  cruelty  on  record  is  that  per- 
petrated in  the  name  of  Grod,  and  under  the  sanction 
of  religion.  Has  Home  changed  her  principles  ?  She 
can  not.  Have  bishops  and  priests  changed  theirs  ? 
They  dare  not.  See  how,  in  Rome,  Naples,  Austria, 
they  fetter  the  press.  See  how,  in  Ireland,  they  oppose 
the  Bible  and  the  education  of  the  people.  See  how,  in 
France,  they  sympathize  with  Louis  Napoleon  to  shackle 
the  press,  to  drive  Protestants  from  all  places  of  trust, 
and  to  monopolize  the  education  of  the  people.  See 
how,  in  Mexico  and  Cuba,  they  wall  out  all  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  prevent  freedom  of  worship.  With  us, 
Sir,  they  are  shy  of  avowing  their  principles.  Here 
every  thing  is  against  them  ;  but  where  they  have  the 
power,  they  are  as  intolerant  as  was  Hildebrand.  These 
priests  from  Maynooth  and  St.  Omer's  carry,  in  the  same 
bas:  with  then  vestments,  two  skins,  that  of  a  lion  and 


kirwan's  letters.  229 

Two  skins. 

a  fox.  For  the  present,  like  slippery  John,  they  wear 
that  of  the  fox ;  but  when  the  fit  time  comes,  it  will 
be  soon  doffed  for  that  of  the  lion.  Are  these  priests 
the  men  for  our  country  ?    Should  they  be  trusted  ? 

With  great  respect,  yours 


230  KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS. 


Pupery  has  one  object.  Influence  on  Papal  nation*. 


LETTER    XXIV. 

Bad  influence  of  Popery  on  the  Nations.— Results  from  its  Principles. — 
No  exceptions. —  Naples. —  Rome. —  Sardinia. — Female  Degradation. 
— Ireland. —  Protestant  and  Papal  States  compared. —  Spain. —  Colo- 
nies of  Papal  States.— Is  Popery  the  best  Religion  for  our  Country  ? 
—Protestantism  has  made  the  United  States  what  they  are. — What 
will  they  become  if  surrendered  to  the  Jesuit  and  the  Priest  ? 

My  dear  Sir, — "Up  to  this  point  I  have  sought  to 
place  before  you  what  I  consider  to  be  the  true  char- 
acter of  the  Romish  Church,  of  its  priests,  its  cere- 
monies, its  impostures,  and  spirit.  And  my  object  in 
all  this  is  avowed — to  demonstrate  to  you,  and  to  the 
entire  American  people,  so  far  as  I  can  arrest  their 
attention,  that  nothing  but  evil — unmingled  evil — can 
be  expected  from  the  spread  of  Popery  in  this  land. 
"Whatever  may  be  its  guises,  or  promises,  or  honeyed 
words,  it  has  but  one  object  in  view,  and  that  is  its 
own  elevation,  and  at  whatever  expense.  And  wher- 
ever it  has  reached  its  desired  elevation,  it  has  shed  the 
deadly  shadow  of  the  upas  tree  upon  all  the  highest 
and  dearest  interests  of  humanity.  And  as  confirma- 
tory of  the  statements  already  made,  and  of  the  just 
inferences  from  those  statements,  I  wish,  in  the  pres- 
ent letter,  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  influence  of  Pop- 
ery on  Papal  nations.  Unless  I  greatly  mistake,  you 
will  find  here  an  argument  of  overwhelming  power  for 
its  rejection. 


kirwan's   letters.  231 

Bad  on  principle.  All  under  the  Pope.  No  exception. 

Its  baleful  national  influence  we  might  infer  from 
its  principles,  and  from  their  bearing  upon  individuals. 
It  banishes  the  Bible  from  society.  The  Church  does 
all  the  thinking ;  the  people  have  only  to  believe.  It 
brands  "private  reasoning"  as  heresy,  and,  unless  aban- 
doned, as  a  damning  sin.  (rod  is  the  source  of  truth ; 
but  he  has  committed  it  to  his  Church,  and  the  Church 
has  committed  it  to  the  priest,  and  the  people  must  go 
to  the  priest  for  it,  and  unless  they  do,  they  are  damned ! 
Thus  it  brings  every  person  to  the  knee  of  the  priest, 
to  receive,  as  the  truth  of  Heaven,  whatever  sense  or 
nonsense  he  may  utter  in  the  name  of  the  Church, 
without  any  right  to  question  it,  and  without  any 
means  to  authenticate  it !  It  subjects  the  people  to 
the  priest,  the  priest  to  the  bishop,  the  bishop  to  the 
Pope,  and  it  makes  no  matte^jRdiat  may  be  the  char- 
acter of  the  Pope — whether  he  be  a  tyrant,  like  Hilde- 
brand — a  bloody  wretch,  like  Julius — an  infidel,  like 
Leo — or  the  very  pink  of  lechers  and  incarnate  devils, 
with  Borgia — he  is  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
infallible  head  of  the  Church !  The  course,  from  which 
it  has  never  turned  aside,  save  to  recruit  its  strength, 
is  to  involve  the  people  in  darkness ;  to  create  and  to 
increase  a  superstitious  reverence  for  the  ghostly  power 
of  the  Church ;  to  render  the  masses  subservient  to 
the  priest ;  and  to  bring  all  the  powers  of  the  individ- 
ual and  of  the  state  into  obedience  to  the  power  which 
she  claims  to  exercise  by  divine  right.  And  as  Popery 
rises  to  the  heights  of  its  aspirations,  the  people  sink 
into  darkness  and  degradation.  If  there  is  an  excep- 
tion to  this  rule,  where  is  it  to  be  found  ? 

Is  it  to  be  found  in  Naples  ?     Would  that  I  could 


232  kirwan's   letters. 

Not  Naples.  Priests'  paradise.  The  people. 

place  before  your  mind  the  moral  picture  of  Naples,  as 
it  now  lies  before  my  own.  There  Popery  has  all 
things  to  its  mind.  The  king,  the  queen,  the  govern- 
ment, the  people,  the  press,  the  army,  the  navy,  all  the 
appliances  of  education,  are  under  its  control.  And 
never  did  you  see  a  peacock  flirting  its  gaudy  feathers 
on  a  summer's  day  with  more  ostentatious  pride  than 
do  the  priests  of  Rome  their  regimentals  along  the 
sunny  highways  of  Naples.  Their  very  tread  shows 
their  consciousness  of  the  firmness  of  the  ground  on 
which  they  stand,  and  their  air  testifies  to  their  feeling 
of  security.  You  meet  them  every  where  in  numbers 
beyond  number,  fat,  sleek,  and  well  dressed,  and  testi- 
fying by  their  hearty  laugh,  their  lordly  port,  their  sat- 
isfied look,  that  they  are  at  home.  And  if  for  priests 
there  is  an  earthly  pamdise,  it  is  Naples.  Rome  is 
nothing  to  it  in  this  respect.  But  when  you  turn  to 
the  people,  alas  !  what  a  sight !  Poverty,  wretched- 
ness, rags,  lazzaroni,  beggars,  soldiers,  mountebanks, 
and  donkeys,  meet  you  every  where.  The  masses  of 
the  people  are  ignorant,  superstitious,  and  immoral  be- 
yond your  conception.  And  as  you  pass  from  the  cities 
and  large  towns  through  the  country,  the  most  astound- 
ing evidences  meet  you  every  where,  that  you  are 
among  a  semi-barbarous,  superstitious,  illiterate,  and 
most  degraded  people.  And  the  despotism  of  Russia, 
or  of  Turkey,  is  American  liberty  in  comparison  with 
the  horrid  despotism  of  Naples  !  If  Popery,  as  a  sys- 
tem, is  a  blessing,  as  the  "  Very  Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick, 
Y.  G\,"  would  have  us  believe,  judging  from  Naples,  it 
reserves  its  blessings  for  the  priests,  and  showers  its 
curses  on  the  people.     Popery,  like  the  sun  in  mid- 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  233 

Gifts  of  Popery.  Not  in  Rome.  Dreams  dissipated 

heaven,  lias  all  Naples  to  itself ;  and  intolerable  des- 
potism, abject  poverty,  stupid  ignorance,  gross  super- 
stition, and  priestly  arrogance,  are  the  gifts  and  bless- 
ings which  she  confers  on  the  people.  Apply  the  rule 
where  you  may,  and  you  will  find  that  Popery  and  pov- 
erty, priests  and  beggars,  always  go  together. 

Is  the  exception  to  be  found  in  Rome,  or  the  States 
of  the  Church  ?  Will  you  turn  to  my  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  letters,  and  read  them  again,  with  a  view 
to  answer  this  question  ?  We  read  here  at  home  of 
"  old  Romans,"  "  brave,"  "  noble,"  "  generous  Ro- 
mans ;"  our  conceptions  of  them  are  large,  generous, 
and  manly.  Their  generals  are  Csesars  ;  their  patriots 
are  all  Cincinnati ;  their  soldiers  are  all  like  those  of 
the  seventh  legion  ;  and  their  women  are  all  Cornelias 
or  Julias.  But  on  entering  Rome,  or  in  riding  through 
the  States  of  the  Church,  these  dreams  all  vanish,  not 
leaving  a  wreck  behind.  And  you  can  scarcely  imag- 
ine that  the  ignorant,  servile,  poverty-smitten,  deceiv- 
ing, lying,  superstitious  people  that  you  every  where 
meet,  can  be  the  descendants  of  the  men  who  planted 
the  eagles  of  victory  at  the  extremes  of  the  world.  In- 
deed, I  felt  like  turning  my  valet  out  of  my  room  when, 
on  paying  him  his  wages,  he  bowed  his  knee  servilely 
before  me,  and  impressed  his  kisses  on  my  hand.  Can 
this  fawning  dog,  said  I,  be  a  descendant  of  the  old 
Romans  ?  Next  to  the  Neapolitans,  the  subjects  of  the 
Fope  are  the  most  degraded  people  in  Europe  ;  and 
why  the  Neapolitans  should  have  the  pre-eminence  in 
degradation,  I  know  not,  save  on  the  principle  that  the 
filth  and  feculence  of  a  mountain  are  usually  washed 
to  its  base,  whence  they  send  up  their  putrid  exhaia- 


234  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Fruits  in  Rome.  In  Sardinia.  Army  of  women. 

tions.  If  the  Popish  system  is  a  blessing,  what  pre- 
vents it  from  bearing  the  richest  fruits  in  Italy  ?  And 
what  are  its  fruits  there  at  this  hour  ?  Swarms  of 
priests,  monks,  nuns,  and  beggars ;  poverty,  ignorance, 
superstition  ;  the  press  shackled ;  no  liberty,  civil  or 
religious  ;  no  security  of  property ;  no  Bible  ;  no  Sab- 
bath ;  splendid  churches  converted  into  opera-houses, 
with  no  congregations ;  and  lying  wonders  without 
number  or  end. 

Is  the  exception  to  be  found  in  Sardinia  ?  You  feel, 
on  entering  Sardinia,  that  you  are  beyond  the  shadow 
of  the  sceptre  of  Pio  Nono,  from  the  improved  condition 
of  the  people,  and  the  evidences  of  growth  which  every 
where  present  themselves ;  but  yet  you  feel  that  you 
are  in  a  Papal  country,  where  Popery  is  the  religion 
of  the  people,  and  where,  save  amid  the  valleys  of  Pied- 
mont, Popery  has  had  for  ages  an  open  field.  And  yet 
the  degradation  of  the  masses  is  most  striking.  They 
are  tunneling  the  Appenines  for  a  rail- way  from  Turin 
to  Genoa,  and,  in  June  last,  I  saw  an  army  of  women 
performing  the  work  of  horses,  carrying  on  their  backs, 
in  baskets,  the  stones  and  clay  from  those  tunnels,  and 
depositing  them  in  the  valleys,  over  which  they  are 
raising  embankments.  I  saw  women  carrying  lime- 
stones from  the  quarries  to  the  kilns  in  which  they 
were  burned  !  This  is  a  sample  of  the  civilization 
which  Popery  has  conferred  on  Sardinia.  While  there 
is  an  improvement  upon  Rome  and  Naples  in  this  coun- 
try, yet  the  fruits  of  Romanism  are  mainly  the  same. 
Unless  the  present  current  of  affairs  is  checked  by  Rome 
aDd  Austria,  wh  «  are  exerting  all  their  power  to  do  it, 
?    better  day  j     dawning  upon  the  dominions  of  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  235 

tlome  of  freemen.  In  Ireland.  Its  curse. 

house  of  Savoy.  The  exiles  from  Florence  and  Lower 
Italy,  the  persecuted  for  conscience  sake,  find  refuge 
there.  Because  the  liberty  of  thinking  and  of  worship 
are  secured  there,  Turin  is  rising  like  an  American 
city.  But  the  blessings  it  possesses  beyond  Rome  or 
Naples  it  owes  to  the  fact  that  its  Popery  is  less  intense. 

Is  the  exception  to  be  found  in  Ireland — poor,  de- 
graded, yet  beautiful  and  noble  Ireland  ?  There  you 
find  a  warm-hearted,  generous,  imaginative,  impulsive, 
and  noble  people,  and,  as  the  world  knows,  capable  of 
the  highest  improvement,  and  what  is  their  state  ?  Gro 
to  their  holy  wells  and  holy  places — to  their  fairs,  their 
villages,  their  cabins,  and  what  is  their  state  ?  Visit 
them  wherever  in  other  lands  they  congregate,  as  in 
the  Cowgate  at  Edinburgh,  and  what  is  their  state  ? 
See  them,  as  in  their  native  dress  they  are  landed  on 
our  shores,  and  follow  them  to  their  places  of  carousal, 
and  what  is  their  state  ?  The  Papal  population  of  Ire- 
land are  greater  Papists  than  the  Pope  himself,  and  are 
more  under  priestly  influence  than  the  people  of  Rome 
— far  more — and  what  good  has  Popery  done  them  or 
their  island  ?  The  curse  of  Ireland  has  been,  and  now 
is,  its  Popery.  Its  lands  are  fertile — its  climate  is 
genial — its  people  are  industrious  ;  but  the  influence 
of  the  priest,  like  the  breath  of  the  sirocco,  has  blight- 
ed the  land — has  debased  its  people — has  made  thorn 
a  by- word  in  all  the  lands  of  their  dispersion. 

The  battle  between  Popery  and  Protestantism,  as  to 
their  doctrinal  basis,  has  been  often  fought ;  and,  when 
fairly  fought,  has  been  always  lost  by  the  priest.  Nor 
can  it  be  otherwise.  If  the  Bible  is  true,  Popery  is  a 
false  system — and,  unless  the  senses  of  man  arc  made 


236  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Lying  wonders.  Systems  compared.  Their  effects 

to  deceive,  it  is  a  system  of  lying  wonders.     If  there  is 
any  moral  position  on  which  the  mind  of  this  age  is 
satisfied,  it  is  that  Popery  is  the  mystery  of  iniquity. 
And  now,  for  three  hundred  years,  these  two  systems 
have  existed  side  by  side  ;  and,  as  if  on  trial  before 
heaven  and  earth,  they  have  each  been  exerting  their 
influence  for  the  purpose  of  manifesting  their  legiti- 
mate effects.     And  what,  Sir,  are  the  results  ?     What 
is  the  effect  of  each  on  human  liberty.     Compare  Na- 
ples, Rome,  and  Austria,  with  England,  Prussia,  and 
these  United  States,  and  see  !     "What,  upon  commerce  ? 
Compare  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Austria,  with  Britain, 
and  see  !     What,  upon  intelligence  ?     Blot  out  the  Pa- 
pal nations,  and  what  is  lost  to  the  intelligent  world  ? 
A  few  stars  only  would  be  missed  from  the  sky.     Blot 
out  the  Protestant  nations  ;  and  the  effect  would  be  like 
the  sun  setting  at  noon-day.     Even  the  "Yery  Rev. 
P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  G-.,"  author  of  the  "Holy  House  of 
Loretto,"  would  feel  that  the  darkness  was  increasing 
around  him.     What  are  their  effects  upon  thrift  and 
industry  ?     Compare  Ireland  with  Scotland,  or  Con- 
naught  with  Ulster,  or  Cork  with  Belfast,  and  see  ! 
What,  upon  morals  ?     Compare  Italy  with  Scotland, 
France  with  England,  and  see  !     The  facts  in  the  case 
are  very  plain,  and  beyond  mistake  by  an  honest  in- 
quirer.     Protestantism   educates  the  mind,  frees  the 
spirit,  extends  the  circle  of  thought  and  action,  expands 
the   affections,  stimulates   to   independence,  puts   the 
Bible  into  the  hands  of  all  men,  and  teaches  them  to 
fear  God,  and  to  fear  none  else.     Hence  its  effects,  ev- 
ery where  visible,  on  the  people  and  nations  that  em- 
brace it.     On  the  other  hand,  Popery  seals  to  man  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  237 

Back  track.  Beyond  cure.  Testimony. 

Book  which  the  Lamb  died  to  unseal,  shackles  the  spir- 
it, forbids  reasoning  on  religious  truths,  shuts  up  the 
affections  to  its  own  adherents,  and  seeks  only  the  ex- 
tension of  its  power  and  the  submission  of  the  people. 
The  high  noon  of  its  prosperity  was  the  period  known 
as  the  "  Dark  Ages  ;"  and  it  seeks  now  to  put  all  things 
on  the  back  track  for  those  asres.     It  has  no  Sabbath 
— no  Bible — no  preaching — nothing,  nothing  to  elevate 
— nothing  but  a  silly  round  of  ceremonies  as  unmean- 
ing as  they  are  absurd.     Hence,  as  Wylie  says  in  his 
recent  excellent  work  on  the  Papacy,  "Wherever  we 
meet  Popery,  there  we  meet  moral  degradation,  mental 
imbecility,  indolence,  improvidence,  rags,  and  beggary. 
No  ameliorations  of  government — no  genius  or  peculi- 
arities of  race — no  fertility  of  soil — no  advantages  of 
climate,  seem  able  to  withstand  the  baleful  influence 
of  this  destructive  superstition.     It  is  the  same  amid 
the  exhaustless  resources  of  the  New  "World  as  amid 
the  civilization  and  arts  of  the  old — it  is  the  same  amid 
the  grandeurs  of  Switzerland  and  the  historic  glories 
of  Italy,  as  among  the  bogs  of  Connaught  and  the 
wilds  of  the  Hebrides."     And  the  testimony  of  Macau- 
lay,  in  his  eloquent  History  of  England,  is  to  the  same 
effect:   "Throughout  Christendom,"  he  says,  "what- 
ever advance  has  been  made  in  knowledge,  in  freedom, 
in  wealth,  in  the  arts  of  life,  has  been  made  in  spite 
of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  has  every  where  been  in 
the  inverse  proportion  to  her  power.     The  loveliest  prov- 
inces in  Europe  have,  under  her  rule,  been  sunk  in 
poverty,  in  political  servitude,  and  in  intellectual  tor- 
por ;  while  Protestant  countries,  once  proverbial  for  their 
sterilitv  and  barbarism,  have  been  turned,  by  skill  and 


238  KIRWAJf's    LETTERS. 

Picture  verified.  A  change.  Spain. 

industry,  into  gardens,  and  can  boast  of  a  long  list  of 
heroes,  statesmen,  philosophers,  and  poets."  Again,  he 
says,  "  Whoever  passes,  in  Germany,  from  a  Roman 
Catholic  to  a  Protestant  principality — in  Switzerland, 
from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  canton — in  Ire- 
land, from  a  Roman  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  county, 
finds  that  he  passes  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  grade  of 
civilization." 

A  few  months  ago  I  was  enabled  to  verify  this  pic- 
ture of  the  eloquent  and  philosophic  historian.  I  passed 
from  Genoa  to  Turin,  and  from  Turin  to  G-eneva 
through  Chambery.  About  three  or  four  miles  from 
G-eneva,  you  pass  through  a  gate,  leaving  Sardinia  be- 
hind you.  In  five  minutes  you  are  persuaded,  by  the 
style  of  building,  the  appearance  of  thrift,  the  eviden- 
ces of  taste,  of  wealth,  of  intelligence,  by  the  altered 
appearance  of  the  people,  the  tillage,  the  mode  of  dress, 
that  you  are  in  a  Protestant  country.  After  spending 
a  few  days  in  Geneva,  I  passed  through  Bonville  and 
Sallanche  to  Chamouni.  A  few  miles  from  Geneva, 
you  pass  through  another  gate,  and  enter  the  kingdom 
of  Sardinia ;  and  the  exchange  of  decent  houses  for 
huts — of  neatly-dressed  people  for  rags — of  a  self-sus- 
taining people  for  beggars  —  and  the  appearance  of 
crosses,  priests,  and  pictures  of  the  Virgin,  soon  con- 
vince you  that  you  are  within  the  dominions  of  Popery. 
And  so  it  is  every  where. 

But  if  you  wish  to  see  at  a  view  the  gigantic  na- 
tional wreck  which  Popery  can  make,  look  at  Spain. 
Washed  by  two  seas,  with  splendid  harbors — penetra- 
ted by  noble  rivers — with  fertile  plains  extending  from 
the  Pyrenees  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar — with  a  cli- 


kirwan's   letters.  239 

Its  position.  Its  ruin.  Popish  colonies. 

mate  proverbially  genial,  and  a  soil  proverbially  pro- 
ductive— with  the  key  of  the  Mediterranean  by  her 
girdle,  and  thus  with  power  to  command  the  trade  of* 
all  Western  Asia  and  Southern  Europe,  she  holds  a  po- 
sition on  Europe's  map  which  should  make  her  its  great 
power.  And  she  was  so  once.  Under  the  Moorish 
kings,  Spain  was  the  garden  of  Europe.  And  why 
are  lies  harbors  without  ships  —  why  her  mines  un- 
wrought — why  her  national  poverty — why  her  feather- 
weight influence  among  the  nations — why  her  little 
exports — her  decaying  cities — her  internal  feuds — why 
has  she  fallen  from  a  position  once  so  high  to  one  now 
so  low  ?  The  history  of  the  infernal  Inquisition,  of  the 
bloody  bigotry  of  her  bishops  and  priests,  and  of  the  su- 
perstition of  her  kings  and  queens,  will  answer  these 
questions.  Popery  has  ruined  Spain,  and  sown  all  its 
fields  with  salt. 

And  the  national  ruin  that  Popery  achieves  at  home, 
she  propagates  abroad.  Where  have  Spain  or  Portugal 
planted  a  colony  that  has  not  manifested  in  its  devel- 
opment the  evils  of  Popery  ?  Not  in  Mexico — not  in 
Brazil — not  in  Chili  or  Peru — not  in  India,  nor  on  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific.  If  you  wish  to  see,  and  within 
the  reach  of  your  own  eye,  the  different  effect  of  the 
two  systems  upon  national  prosperity,  compare  Papal 
Mexico,  with  its  genial  climate,  its  rich  lands,  its  mines 
of  gold,  with  New  England,  with  its  sterile  soil,  its 
cold  climate,  and  barren  hills.  Sir,  the  striking  differ- 
ence, and  under  circumstances  so  favorable  to  Mexico, 
can  only  be  charged  to  the  difference  in  religion  which 
has  obtained  among  the  people.  And  this  parallelism 
holds  equally  true,  whether  applied  to  nations,  states, 


240  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 

Is  it  the  best  form  ?  All  become  Papists.  It  debases. 

cantons,  counties,  cities,  commerce,  intelligence,  mor- 
als, habits,  or  individuals. 

Now,  Sir,  in  view  of  all  this,  whose  substantial  truth 
you,  at  least,  will  not  question,  permit  me  to  urge  upon 
you  the  inquiry,  Is  Popery  the  best  form  of  religion  for 
our  country  ?  If  it  is  the  best  form  for  one,  it  is  the 
best  for  every  citizen ;  and  would  it  be  for  the  future 
glory  and  happiness  of  this  country  for  us  all  to  give  in 
our  allegiance  to  Pius  IX. — to  give  up  our  Bibles — to 
give  up  preaching  for  the  Mass — and  Christ  for  Mary 
— and  the  only  Mediator  for  an  army  of  saints  and 
nuns — and  all  our  religious  books  for  Butler's  Lives 
of  the  Saints — and  the  history  of  Jesus  for  the  devout 
perusal  of  the  "  Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  by  the  "Very 
Rev.  P.  R.  Kenrick,  V.  G\" — and  for  all  of  us  to  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  claims  of  our  long-coated 
priests  are  all  right,  and  to  submit  to  them  ?  I  am 
sure  that  you,  even  you,  to  whom  was  dedicated  a 
work  containing  a  vindication  of  the  infernal  Inquisi- 
tion, would  go  against  all  this  with  a  vengeance.  You 
love  your  country,  and  its  institutions,  and  its  future 
glory  too  ardently  to  place  it  under  the  care  of  the 
Jesuit  and  the  priest,  and  thus  to  make  it  a  mere  trib- 
utary to  the  rickety  despotism  of  Rome,  which  is  only 
kept  in  existence  by  French  bayonets. 

But  what  would  work  evil  to  the  mass  can  not  be 
good  for  the  individual ;  and  the  question  returns,  Is 
Popery  the  best  form  of  religion  for  the  individual  ? 
There  is  but  one  answer  to  the  question ;  it  admits  of 
but  one.  It  is  by  debasing  individuals  it  debases  the 
masses,  and  lays  its  ax  at  the  root  of  all  national 
greatness.     There  is  not  a  living  person  that  is  not  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  241 

Protestantism  has  made  America. 

worse  for  being  a  Papist  ;*nor  can  a  man  or  woman 
embrace  it  without  mental  and  moral  injury. 

Protestantism,  Sir,  has  made  our  land  what  it  is. 
It  originally  colonized  these  states — it  laid  the  mental 
and  moral  training  of  our  people  at  the  foundation  of 
our  institutions — it  put  up  our  school-houses  and  col- 
leges— it  nerved  the  hearts  of  our  sires  to  resist  the 
encroachments  of  power — it  fought  and  won  the  bat- 
tles of  our  independence — it  has  made  us  an  enterpris- 
ing, law-abiding,  and  industrious  people — it  has  found- 
ed our  governments — framed  our  laws — given  integrity 
to  our  judges — and  has  made  this  the  home  of  the  ex- 
ile from  all  lands.  It  has  built  our  cities — whitened 
the  ocean  with  our  canvas,  and  has  sent  our  ships  to 
every  bay,  yes,  to  every  creek  of  the  ocean.  It  has 
extended  loyalty,  and  thrift,  and  enterprise,  and  wealth, 
and  security,  and  happiness  from  shore  to  shore — from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  where  the  west  is  lost  in 
the  rising  east.  Nor  can  you  or  I  indulge  any  vivid 
hopes  for  our  country,  save  in  its  Christianized,  that  is 
to  say,  spiritually-Protestantized  futurity.  Let  the 
Pope  and  the  priest  reign  here  as  they  do  in  Naples, 
Austria,  and  Rome,  and  then  New  York  will  be  as 
Naples,  and  Baltimore  as  Rome,  and  our  great  and 
growing  country  like  unto  the  empire  of  the  house  of 
Hapsburg,  the  Sleepy  Hollow  of  the  world  ;  and  oui 
active,  industrious,  and  thriving  people,  as  lazy,  as 
poor,  as  stupid,  and  as  vicious  as  are  our  neighbors  of 
Mexico,  or  as  wicked  and  avaricious  priests  can  make 
them.  When  the  priest  gains  the  ascendent  here,  the 
last  rays  of  the  sun  of  our  glory  are  dying  away  on 
the  summit  of  our  Rocky  Mountains. 

L 


242  kirwan's   letters. 


What  to  be  done  with  Papists  ? 


What,  then,  you  will  ask*  is  to  be  done  with  the  Pa- 
pists and  priests  that  are  rained  down  upon  us  from 
the  old  nations  of  Europe  ?  This  question  I  will  an- 
swer in  my  next. 

With  great  respect,  truly  yours 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  243 


Emigrants.  Every  where.  More  coming. 


LETTER   XXV. 

Emigration — must  increase — mostly  Popish. — What  to  be  done  for  them 
-Liberty — Conscience — American  Spirit. — Tide  stayed  until  now. 
— Right  of  all  Men  to  the  Bible — Wickedness  of  withholding  it. — 
Differences  between  Protestantism  and  Popery. — Edinburgh  Irish 
Missions. — Rev.  Mr.  King. — Character  of  Priests. — Pilgrim  of  Struel. 
— Treatment  Priests  deserve. 

My  dear  Sir, — There  is,  as  all  the  world  knows,  a 
vast  influx  of  emigrants  from  all  the  states  of  Europe 
to  our  shores.  Upon' the  wharves  of  all  our  great  com- 
mercial cities  you  see  the  garb,  and  you  hear  the  tongue 
peculiar  to  all  the  nations  and  people  extending  from 
the  North  Cape  to  the  Island  of  Sicily,  and  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  the  western  shores-  of  Ireland.  And  yet 
they  come.  They  are  penetrating  our  interior — they 
are  to  be  found  in  the  city,  in  the  town,  on  the  prairie, 
in  the  woods,  in  the  shop  of  the  mechanic,  breaking  up 
a  virgin  soil  into  which  a  plowshare  has  never  entered, 
and  carrying  with  them  their  language,  their  customs, 
their  morals,  and  their  religion,  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  from  both  the  oceans  that  now  bound 
our  great  country.  And  there  is  a  buzzing  stir  amid 
the  old  nations  of  Europe,  like  unto  that  which  may 
be  heard  in  a  bee-hive  previous  to  its  swarming,  which 
clearly  indicates  that  what  of  emigration  we  yet  have 
seen  here  is  but  as  the  few  ripe  grapes  when  compared 
with  the  overflowing  vintage,  or  but  as  the  little  rise  in 


244  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


Tenants  of  Europe.  A  saying.  Majority  Papist* 

our  great  rivers,  caused  by  a  few  summer  showers, 
when  compared  with  our  spring  freshets,  caused  by  the 
dissolving  of  our  snows  upon  our  extended  mountain 
ranges.  The  masses  of  Europe  are  tenants,  and  they 
are  beginning  to  feel  the  oppression  of  their  landlords, 
and  that  from  it  there  is  no  way  of  escape  save  by  rev- 
olution or  by  emigration  ;  and  as  the  chances  of  revo- 
lution are  at  present  against  them,  they  prefer  to  emi- 
grate. "  Our  gentry,"  said  a  noble  Scotch  clergyman 
to  me,  "  are  beginning  to  think  more  of  sheep  than  of 
men,  and  are  sending  off  their  tenants  to  make  room 
for  their  sheep  and  black  cattle.  Our  people  must  go 
to  America."  "  You  will  not  find  a  healthy  person  any 
where  that  is  not  thinking  of  going  to  America,"  said 
the  guard  of  a  stage-coach  to  me,  as  I  was  riding 
through  Ireland.  Soon  we  came  to  a  stopping-place. 
A  fine,  rosy-cheeked  girl,  with  health  in  all  her  move- 
ments, came  with  a  message  to  the  guard ;  and  de- 
termined to  put  his  saying  to  the  test,  I  said  to  her, 
"My  fine  girl,  do  you  think  of  going  to  America?" 
"  I  am  going  next  month,  your  honor,"  said  she,  her 
face  radiant  with  smiles.  The  people  of  Europe  are 
waking  up  to  a  sense  of  their  wrongs ;  and  the  more 
they  manifest  that  they  see  and  feel  them,  the  more 
oppressive  are  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers  ;  so 
that,  in  the  nature  of  things,  great  as  the  emigration 
now  is  here,  it  must  be  vastly- increased. 

And  as  the  majority  of  emigrants  for  some  years  past 
have  been  Papists,  so  it  must  continue  to  be.  The 
Papal  nations  are  the  poorest,  the  worst  governed,  and 
the  most  oppressed  ;  and  the  Papists  of  Protestant  na- 
tions, as  of  Britain,  Prussia,  and  some  of  the  minor 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  245 

What  to  be  done.  Liberty  of  conscience.  Taint. 

states  of  Germany,  are  the  least  thrifty,  and  are  those 
to  whom  a  change  of  country  would  seem  to  offer  the 
most  inducements.  So  that  for  years  to  come  there 
must  be  a  vast  yearly  accession  to  our  population  of 
those  educated  under  Popish  institutions,  and,  of  course, 
of  Popish  priests.  And  if  Popery  and  its  priests  are 
what  I  have  described  them  to  be — if  Popery  in  all 
lands,  and  to  the  extent  to  which  it  obtains,  is  a  na- 
tional curse,  the  question  with  which  I  closed  my  last 
letter  is  a  very  grave  one,  "  "What  is  to  be  done  with 
these  Papists  and  priests  ?"  Will  you  permit  me  to  in- 
dicate what  I  consider  the  true  answer  to  the  question  ? 
Not  a  feeling  must  be  indulged  or  manifested  other 
than  that  of  permitting  them  to  enjoy,  to  the  utmost 
extent  of  our  institutions,  a  free  and  full  liberty  of  con- 
science. Ignorant,  superstitious,  and  semi-civilized  as 
they  may  be,  when  naturalized  they  are  citizens.  Our 
Constitution  knows  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  Papist 
nor  Protestant.  All  good  citizens  it  treats  as  does  a 
kind  father  his  children.  Nor  must  we  show  any  jeal- 
ousy of  placing  a  fitting  man  in  a  place  of  trust  or 
power  simply  because  he  is  a  Papist.  I  rejoice,  Sir, 
that  you,  a  nominal  Papist,  are  at  the  head  of  the  judi- 
ciary of  this  great  country,  and  that  you  were  placed 
there  by  a  thorough  Protestant,  who  hated  the  Pope 
far  more,  I  fear,  than  he  hated  sin,  because  of  the  ad- 
vantage it  gives  us,  if,  for  no  other  reason,  of  contrast- 
ing the  two  systems.  Think  you  that  a  Protestant,  if 
pure  as  Marshall,  if  learned  as  Blackstone,  if  eloquent 
as  Webster,  could  be  made  chief  justice  of  Cuba,  or 
Mexico,  or  Naples,  or  even  Belgium  ?  Would  not  the 
taint  of  Protestantism  countervail  all  other  qualifica- 


246  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


Rights  of  conscience.  Sacred  domain.  Power  gone. 

tions,  and  tend  rather  to  secure  his  expulsion  than  his 
elevation  ? 

And  then  we  must  teach  them  the  rights  of  con- 
science, and  to  respect  those  rights — that  God  is  the 
only  lord  of  conscience.     It  is  hard  to  learn  them  this, 
when  their  very  conscience  has  "been  educated  into  the 
opposite  belief,  that  the  Church  and  the  priest  give 
laws  to  conscience,  and  that  we  are  bound  to  persecute 
those  who  refuse  compliance  to  those  laws.     It  is  a 
great  lesson  for  us  to  teach,  and  for  them  to  learn ;  and 
when  truly  learned  by  them,  the  power  of  the  priest  is 
gone.     If  you,  Sir,  are  conscientiously  a  Papist,  I  am 
conscientiously  a  Protestant,  and  to  our  God  we  are 
only  accountable.     "Within  the  domain  of  conscience 
no  Pope,  prelate,  or  priest  has  a  right  to  place  his  foot ; 
and  the  intruder  within  that  sacred  inclosure  should 
be  as  unceremoniously  expelled  as  were  apostate  angels 
from  heaven,  who  were  driven  pell-mell  over  its  battle- 
ments, and  cast  down  into  everlasting  chains  and  penal 
fire.     The  supremacy  of  conscience  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  Pope  are  in  the  opposite  scales  ;  as  the  one  rises, 
the  other  sinks.     The  man  who  enthrones  God  in  his 
conscience  is  lost  to  the  priest.     He  has  no  longer  any 
use  for  confessions,  penances,  or  extreme  unctions — for 
holy  water  or  holy  chrism.     He  is  a  subject  of  the 
perfect  law  of  liberty.     We  must  then  teach  them  to 
assert  their  own  rights  of  conscience,  and  to  respect 
those  of  others.    Then  the  priest  will  have  lost  all  power 
to  foment  the  people  to  such  riots  as  have  occurred  in 
New  York,  St.  Louis,  and  Milwaukie,  and  which  have 
so  clearly  demonstrated  that  a  change  of  country  or 
climate  does  not  soon  change  the  nature  of  the  hyena 


'  S     LETTERS.  247 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


American  spirit.  Its  power. Our  way. 

We  must  also  seek  to  imbue  them  with  the  true- 
spirit  of  our  country.     It  is  among  the  greatest  of  the 
many  blessings  of  Heaven  to  our  land  that  our  present 
tide  of  emigration  was  held  back  until  our  people  be- 
came sufficiently  numerous,  and  our  institutions  suffi- 
ciently established,  to  be  unaffected  by  it — until  our 
people  acquired  a  character  of  their  own,  and  power  to 
impress  it  upon  those  who  seek  here  an  asylum  for 
themselves  and  their  posterity.     Had  our  present  emi- 
gration taken  place  one  hundred  years  ago,  it  would 
be  substantially  a  transference  here  of  Ireland  and 
Germany,  and  of  the  other  European  nations,  with 
their  language,  and  religion,  and  social  institutions. 
But  now  it  affects  us  but  little  more  than  do  the  fresh 
waters  of  the  Hudson,  the  Susquehanna,  or  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  salt  water  of  the  ocean.     Indeed,  as  the  At- 
lantic takes  these  and  other  rivers  into  its  bosom,  and 
assimilates  all  their  turbid  waters  to  itself,  imparting 
to  them  all  its  color,  and  salting  them  with  its  salt,  so 
may  our  country  receive  into  her  arms  the  multitudes 
fleeing  to  her  for  refuge  from  the  despotisms  of  the  old 
world,  and  mold  them  all  into  the  American  form. 
Nothing  here  lives  by  divine  right,  but  the  true.     We 
permit  men  to  swagger  as  they  see  fit,  and  to  put  forth 
what  claims  they  please ;  but  the  moment  they  attempt 
to  enforce  claims  by  divine  right,  they  soon  learn  their 
latitude  and  longitude.     When  priests  claim  to  think 
for  us,  we  only  think  the  harder.     The  more  they  seek 
to  induce  us  to  sing  hosannas  to  the  Pope,  the  louder 
we  proclaim  him  to  be  the  anti- Christ.     The  more  they 
oppose  the  Bible,  the  more  we  print,  circulate,  and  read 
it.     And  the  more  they  circulate  such  books  as  "  The 


248  kirwan's   letters. 

Privilege  of  laughing.  Our  peculiarity.  Individualisms  lost. 

Garden  of  the  Soul,"  "  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints," 
and  "  The  Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  by  the  erudite  and 
philosophic  P.  R.  Kenrick,  Y.Gr.,  to  revive  the  drooping 
faith  of  their  flocks,  the  more  we  claim  and  exercise  the 
privilege  of  laughing  at  them  from  one  end  of  the  land 
to  the  other. 

The  fact  is,  that  we,  Sir,  have  a  character  peculiarly 
our  own.  Our  fathers  taught  us  to  think  for  ourselves ; 
and  this  spirit  is  fostered  by  all  our  institutions.  The 
prevalence  of  education  makes  the  masses  intelligent ; 
and  before  our  general  intelligence,  and  the  Protestant 
atmosphere  that  covers  the  land,  ignorance  and  cre- 
dulity are  fast  disappearing.  Indeed,  the  tendency  is 
less  to  faith  than  to  infidelity.  Nothing  is  now  taken 
for  granted,  however. venerable  for  years,  or  however 
intrenched  behind  authority,  without  examination. 
Whether  right  or  wrong,  this  is  the  American  peculi- 
arity. And  if  we  only  rightly  and  truly  impress  it 
upon  the  emigrants  swarming  here  from  other  lands, 
it  will  be  the  death  of  Popery.  The  Irish,  English, 
French,  Scotch,  Germans,  Italians,  Hollanders  come 
here,  not  to  propagate  then  national  characteristics, 
but,  like  different  ingredients  thrown  together,  each 
yielding,  in  a  chemical  process,  their  peculiarities,  and 
all  uniting  to  form  a  new  substance.  The  British  em- 
igrant  gives  up  his  queen — the  French  his  king,  presi- 
dent, prince-president,  or  consul — the  German  his  king 
or  emperor — and  why  should  the  Papist  cling  to  the 
Pope  ?  Why  should  he  fling  from  his  body  the  chains 
of  civil  despotism,  and  hug  the  chains  of  spiritual  des- 
potism, which  are  eating  into  his  soul  ?  Why  should  he 
not  seek  a  spiritual  as  well  as  civil  emancipation  ?    He 


kirwan's   letters.  249 

Harmless  thunder.  Contagion.  Our  mill. 

is  here  beyond  the  reach  of  the  arm  of  despotism ;  and, 
imbibing  the  true  American  spirit,  he  should  think, 
and  read,  and  act  for  himself.  The  men  that  wear  the 
fillets  made  from  the  wool  of  holy  sheep,  and  their 
priests,  may  rage,  but  their  rage,  like  the  thunders  that 
are  sometimes  heard  in  the  distance  of  a  fine  morning, 
reminding  us  of  the  storms  of  the  night,  excites  no  ter- 
ror. When  the  bear  is  within  bars,  he  may  rage  until 
he  is  willing  to  stop. 

And  this  American  spirit  is  so  contagious,  that  there 
are  but  few  emigrants  who  are  not  in  some  measure 
affected  by  it.  Even  the  priests  feel  it.  However 
they  may  feel  about  it,  they  have  to  yield  to  it.  "  Why 
do  you  attend  our  worship  and  read  our  Bible  ?"  said 
I  to  a  Papist,  on  my  outward  voyage,  who  was  going 
home  to  Ireland  on  a  visit.  "  0,  I  have  been  some 
years  in  America,"  was  his  reply.  He  had  caught  the 
spirit  of  our  country.  And  while  the  exceedingly  illit- 
erate, and  those  advanced  in  life,  who  emigrate  here, 
may,  with  few  exceptions,  retain  their  Popish  preju- 
dices, and  may  be  proof  against  the  contagious  spirit 
of  our  country,  it  will  not  be  so  with  the  young  and 
intelligent,  nor  with  their  children.  In  the  nature  of 
things,  it  can  not  be  so,  as  a  rule.  The  son  of  an  Irish- 
man will  neither  wear  his  father's  breeches  nor  brogues, 
nor  will  he  kneel  to  his  priest.  The  son  of  an  Irish- 
man, a  Frenchman,  or  Italian  is  an  American,  and  he 
will  not  be  a  Romanist.  We  have  a  mill,  of  which 
the  common  school  is  the  nether,  and  the  Bible  and  its 
institutions  the  upper  stone ;  into  this  mill  let  us  cast 
the  people  of  all  countries  and  forms  of  religion  that 
come  here,  and  they  will  come  out  in  the  grist  Amer. 

L2 


250  kirwan's  letters. 


Right  to  the  Bible.  Post-office.  Why  such  war. 


*o 


icans  and  Protestants.     And  the  highest  wisdom  of  our 
country  is  to  keep  this  mill  in  vigorous  operation. 

We  must  also  teach  them  that  it  is  the  inalienable 
right  of  every  man  to  read  the  Bible.     As  prophets  and 
apostles  spoke  "the  words  of  this  life"  in  the  hearing  of 
all  that  composed  their  audiences,  and  to  the  end  that 
all  should  understand  them,  so  their  messages,  when 
committed  to  writing  and  to  the  press,  are  for  the  pe- 
rusal of  all,  and  that  all  may  understand  them.     And 
what  right  has  the  priest  to  obtrude  himself,  and  to 
take  from  you  the  Bible,  or  to  compel  you  to  receive 
its  teachings  only  as  he  interprets  them  ?     When  a 
boy,  and  absent  from  home,  had  you  not  a  right  to  take 
your  father's  letters  from  the  post-office,  and  to  read 
them,  and  to  find  out  their  meaning,  without  going  to 
the  priest  ?     And  is  not  Grod  the  father  of  us  all — and 
is  not  the  Bible  his  paternal  counsel  to  us — and  what 
right  has  the  priest  to  take  it  from  us  ?     "What  if  some 
parts  are  omitted  that  he  deems  inspired,  why  not  per- 
mit you  to  read  the  rest  ?    What  if  some  passages  are 
not  translated  to  suit  him  ?  these  are  but  few  in  com- 
parison with  those  to  which  no  objections  are  made 
There  is  no  excuse  that  can  be  made  for  the  opposition 
of  the  priest  to  the  Bible.     If  I  could  not  get  a  copy  of 
the  Bible  without  having  annexed  to  it  the  history  of 
"  The  Holy  House  of  Loretto,"  I  would  take  it ;  if  I 
could  not  get  it  save  with  the  minor  prophets  omitted, 
I  would  yet  take   it.     Protestant  ministers   are  not 
afraid  of  their  people  reading  the  Douay  Bible,  and 
never  burn  it ;  and  why  should  Popish  priests  wage  so 
deadly  a  war,  not  only  against  the  Protestant  Bible, 
but  against  the  unrestricted  circulation  and  reading 


kirwan's   letters.  251 

What  we  owe  to  the  Bible.  Right  discussions. 

even  of  their  own  authorized  versions  ?  Their  wicked- 
ness in  all  this  must  be  exposed — their  object,  which 
is  to  keep  their  people  in  ignorance  of  their  horrible 
deceptions,  must  be  every  where  proclaimed.  We  must 
not  compel  any  to  read  the  Word  of  Grod,  but  we  must 
see  to  it  that  none  are  prevented  from  reading  it.  We 
owe,  Sir,  to  a  free,  unrestricted  use  of  the  Bible  all  wre 
are,  and  all  for  which  we  may  reasonably  hope.  And 
Bible-hating,  Bible-burning  priests  are  the  men  who, 
more  than  all  others,  are  placing  the  ax  at  the  root  of 
the  tree  of  our  liberty,  under  whose  branches  we  now 
so  quietly  and  securely  repose.  When  the  Word  of 
Grod  is  read  by  all  our  people,  the  craft  of  the  priest  is 
over — to  use  a  figure  of  Luther,  a  big  hole  is  made 
in  the  head  of  his  drum.  And,  like  unto  the  "  Holy 
House  of  Loretto,"  when  deserted  in  Dalmatia,  he  may 
take  up  his  line  of  march  for  Italy. 

We  must  also  wake  up  the  mind  of  our  Papal  pop- 
ulation to  discussions  upon  the  great  topics  on  which 
Popery  and  Protestantism  differ.  There  is  a  kind  of 
controversy  which  is  greatly  to  be  deplored — there  is 
another  kind  which  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  and  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  as  long  as  error  exists  to  oppose 
the  truth.  There  was  once  a  feeling  that  inveterate 
drunkards  were  beyond  reclamation  ;  and  there  was  a 
prevalent  sentiment  in  the  Protestant  world  that  Pa- 
pists were  beyond  the  influence  of  truth,  and  the  hope 
of  conversion  ;  but  abundant  facts  prove  both  to  be 
groundless.  Many  priests,  and  people  in  multitudes, 
have  and  are  yearly  deserting  and  denouncing  Popery. 
I  spent  a  part  of  twro  Sabbath  evenings  in  the  Irish 
Mission  Chapel  in  Edinburgh,  in  which  the  Rev.  Mr 


252  kirwan's   letters. 

Irish  missions.  Edinburgh.  People  need  light. 

M'Menomy,  once  a  Papist,  presides.  It  was  crowded 
to  an  overflow  with  Protestants  and  Papists.  Subjects 
were  selected  for  discussion,  and  they  were  discussed 
freely  on  both  sides.  The  Bible  was  the  standard  to 
which  every  thing  was  brought.  I  heard  there  shrewd 
Irish  Papists,  with  remarkable  dexterity,  advocate  the 
dogmas  and  customs  of  their  Church ;  and  the  good 
results  could  be  seen  in  the  benches  crowded  with  con- 
verts from  Romanism,  and  in  the  multitudes  inquiring 
whether  the  religion  of  the  priest  was  or  was  not  the 
religion  of  the  Bible.  I  attended  another  meeting, 
where,  in  a  more  quiet  way,  M'Laughlin,  "  the  miller 
of  the  glens  of  Antrim,"  who  was  cursed  from  the  al- 
tar, is  doing  also  a  noble  work  among  the  Papists  of 
Edinburgh.  They  meet  and  discuss  the  claims  and 
doctrines  of  the  priest ;  and  the  result  could  be  seen  in 
an  upper  room  filled  with  plain,  humble,  but  yet  intel- 
ligent people,  who  were  rescued  from  the  wiles  of  "the 
man  of  sin,"  and  who  could  give  an  intelligent  reason 
for  the  hope  that  was  in  them.  And  it  is  in  ways  like 
these  that  priests,  and  the  people  by  tens  of  thousands 
in  Ireland,  are  passing  over  to  the  religion  of  the  Bible. 
What  the  people  need  is  light.  Romanism  has  kept 
them  in  darkness,  and  has  filled  their  minds  with  fa- 
bles, prejudices,  and  monstrous  superstitions  ;  let  the 
light  of  Heaven  into  these  minds,  and  these  fables, 
prejudices,  and  superstitions  are  seen  in  their  true 
character,  and  are  at  once  abandoned.  Hence  the 
awful  dread  of  discussion — and  of  the  Bible — and  of 
good  books — and  even  of  common  schools,  by  the  priests, 
save  where  their  own  tools  are  the  teachers.  Nothing 
suffers  by  right  discussion  but  error ;  and,  as  in  Ire- 


KIRWAN 


'S     LETTERS.  253 


Rev.  A.  King.  Father  Ignatius.  Character  of  priests. 


land,  so  here,  all  right  means  should  be  used  to  wake 
up  the  mind  of  our  entire  Papal  population  to  an  ex- 
amination of  the  claims  and  doctrines  of  their  Church, 
to  the  despotism  of  the  priest,  and  to  their  duty  to  as- 
sert their  Christian  liberty  in  a  land  of  freedom.  One 
man  like  the  eloquent  and  warm-hearted  King,  of 
Dublin,  whose  name  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  among 
us,  would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  all  our  great 
cities.  Familiar  with  the  controversy,  courteous  in 
his  demeanor,  brilliant  in  debate,  ready  at  repartee, 
full  to  an  overflow  of  Irish  humor,  and  with  a  heart 
catholic  in  its  instincts,  and  under  the  guidance  of 
the  law  of  love,  he  is  the  terror  of  the  priest  and  a  fa- 
vorite of  the  people.  Copying  the  example  of  his  mag- 
nificence of  New  York,  Father  Ignatius,  a  predesti- 
nated dolt,  fled  to  Halifax  before  him ;  and  the  right 
reverends  and  the  honorables,  who  head  the  Papal 
gatherings  at  the  Rotunda,  decline  his  invitations  to 
fair  discussion.  And  thus  the  eyes  of  multitudes  are 
opening  to  a  perception  of  the  errors  of  Romanism,  and 
to  the  wickedness  of  its  priests. 

And,  above  all,  we  must  seek  to  place  before  the 
people  the  true  character  of  their  priests.  "What,  Sir, 
was  their  character  before  the  Reformation?  What 
was  it  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  as  drawn  by  Pa- 
pal writers  ?  To  the  last  degree  wicked.  And  what 
is  it  now  in  Rome  ?  "Rome,  in  its  priests  and  people, 
has  not  been,  for  a  thousand  years,  such  a  sink  of  cor- 
ruption as  it  is  at  this  hour,"  said  a  gentleman  to  me 
in  Rome,  who  has  resided  there  for  years,  and  who  has 
had  every  opportunity  to  know  it  well.  And  if  such 
is  the  character  of  her  priests  at  the  very  seat  of  her 


254  kirwan's   letters. 

Mercy  unlimited.  Pilgrim  of  Struel.  A  ghost. 

power  and  her  infallibility,  what  must  be  their  char- 
acter in  her  distant  provinces  ?  Better,  I  think,  than 
in  Rome,  but  yet  bad.  While  I  am  far  from  saying 
that  no  Popish  priests  are  pious  or  sincere,  and  would 
not  limit  the  mercy  of  God,  who  sends  his  rain  upon 
the  just  and  the  unjust,  I  am  yet  free  to  say  that  they 
awfully  impose  upon  their  people,  and  for  no  object  but 
gain. 

In  addition  to  the  testimony  already  adduced  to  sup- 
port this  opinion,  permit  me  to  state  another,  as  narra- 
ted at  length  in  Hardy's  little  volume  on  the  "  Holy 
Wells  of  Ireland."  A  gentleman  found  a  young  man 
performing  stations  at  the  Well  of  Struel,  near  Down- 
patrick,  and  held  with  him  the  following  conversa- 
tion: 

"  What  is  your  name  ? 

"  John  L  alley. 

"  Where  are  you  from  ? 

"  The  county  of  Galway. 

"  What  induced  you  to  come  so  far  to  do  stations  at 
this  place  ? 

"  Last  November,  a  spirit  in  the  shape  of  a  man  ap- 
peared to  me  every  night  for  three  weeks,  near  the 
house  in  which  I  lived  in  the  county  of  Gal  way  ;  and 
one  night  I  took  courage  and  spoke  to  it,  saying,  '  In 
the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  do  me 
no  harm,  nor  any  one  belonging  to  me,  and  tell  me 
what  it  is  that  troubles  you.'  The  spirit  then  replied, 
'  I  am  glad  you  spoke,  for  this  is  the  last  night  I  would 
have  appeared  to  you.  I  have  been  dead  these  nine- 
teen years,  and  you  were  but  three  and  a  half  old 
when  I  departed.     Before  my  death  I  promised  to  do 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  255 

Paddy  Brady.  The  sand-pit.  Purgatory. 

stations  at  Strael,  but  never  performed  my  vow ;  and 
because  I  did  not  do  them,  I  can  not  rest.' 

"  Did  you  inquire  what  was  his  name  ? 

"  Yes  ;  his  name  was  Paddy  Brady. 

"  "Where  did  he  say  he  lived  when  he  promised  to 
do  the  stations  ? 

"  In  the  neighborhood  of  Downpatrick,  near  Struel. 

"  What  was  his  calling  when  living  ? 

"  A  carpenter. 

"  Where  did  he  say  his  spirit  had  been  for  the  last 
nineteen  years  ? 

"  For  the  first  five  years  he  was  up  to  his  neck  in 
water,  under  a  bridge  in  this  county  ;  and  for  the  last 
fourteen  he  has  been  in  a  sand-pit  in  the  county  Gral- 
way. 

"  Are  you  certain  that  "no  person  ever  attempted  to 
impose  upon  you  in  this  affair  ?  Were  you  ever  in- 
clined to  doubt  about  it  ? 

"  No,  never ;  for  the  night  he  was  going  away,  he 
took  hold  of  my  hand,  and  left  a  black  mark  on  it,  and 
went  off  in  a  flash  of  light. 

"  Have  you  been  in  a  bad  state  of  health  lately  ? 

"  No. 

"  Have  you  felt  your  head  very  uneasy  or  in  pain  ? 

"  Never  in  my  life. 

"  Where  do  you  believe  the  spirit  is  now  ? 

"  In  Purgatory. 

"  And  was  he  in  Purgatory  at  the  time  he  was  un- 
der the  bridge  and  in  the  sand-pit  ? 

"  Yes. 

"  Why  did  you  not  come  sooner  to  do  the  sta- 
tions ? 


256  '      KIR  WAN's     LETTERS. 

Father  Coyne.  Masses.  Promising  priest. 

"  Because  he  told  me  that  the  proper  time  to  do 
them  would  be  from  May  to  Midsummer. 

"  Have  you  ever  spoke  to  your  parish  priest  respect- 
ins:  this  stransre  affair  ? 

"  Yes,  I  have. 

"  What  did  he  advise  you  to  do  ? 

"  He  advised  me  to  do  the  stations. 

"  What  is  your  parish  priest's  name  ? 

"  Coyne. 
*    "  Has  the  Bishop  of  Gralway  ever  heard  of  the  mat- 
ter? 

"  Mr.  Coyne  is  the  under-bishop  of  the  diocese. 

"  Were  there  any  masses  said  for  the  soul  of  this 
man  after  he  died  ? 

"  Yes ;  his  mother  got  two  masses  celebrated,  for 
which  she  paid. 

"  And  could  not  the  masses  get  him  out  of  Purga- 
tory ? 

"  The  masses  will  hold  good ;  and  if  he  had  not 
promised  to  do  the  stations,  they  would  have  fully  an- 
swered. 

"  Have  you  seen  the  priest  of  this  parish  since  you 
came  ? 

"  I  have. 

"  Have  you  told  him  all  about  the  matter  ? 

"  Yes. 

"  Did  he  say  any  thing  against  your  doing  these 
stations  ? 

"  Oh  no. 

"  Did  he  say  he  would  write  to  your  priest  about  you  ? 

"  Yes. 

"  Has  he  done  so  ? 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  2f57 


Stations  performed  fasting.  Punishment  prolonged. 

"  Not  yet. 

"  Have  you  brought  any  letter  from  your  parish  priest 
to  the  priest  of  this  parish  ? 

"  No. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  here  ? 

"  To-morrow  will  be  the  tenth  day. 

"  What  time  do  you  begin  your  stations  ? 

"  About  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  I  do  six  sta- 
tions before  I  break  my  fast.  I  have  not  done  until 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

&  I  see  you  are  taking  a  smoke  ;  do  you  never  take 
a  drink  of  water  through  the  day  ? 

"  No,  neither  bite  or  sup  till  the  six  stations  are  fin- 
ished. 

"  Do  you  believe  that  you  will  get  any  benefit  of 
your  own  soul  in  consequence  of  your  doing  these  sta- 
tions for  the  spirit  you  supposed  you  have  seen  ? 

"  Yes,  I  do  ;  for  the  spirit  told  me  if  I  would  do  this 
for  him,  that  he  would  do  five  hundred  times  as  much 
for  me  when  he  would  be  happy. 

"  If  you  had  not  engaged  to  do  these,  what  do  you 
think  would  have  been  the  consequence  ? 

"  The  spirit  said  that  if  I  would  not  consent  to  do 
this  for  him  now,  he  would  have  to  remain  in  the  sand- 
pit fifty-five  years  longer. 

"  Could  he  get  no  one  but  you  to  do  the  stations  for 
him  ? 

"  I  was  the  person  fixed  on  since  I  was  three  years 
and  a  half  old. 

"  Have  you  made  any  agreement  to  see  the  spirit 
when  you  go  back  ? 

"  No ;  for  as  soon  as  I  am  done  he  will  be  happy. 


258  KIRWAN    S     LETTERS. 

Total  darkness.  Wretched  state.  Worse  things, 

"  Do  you  believe  that  he  is  now  in  pain  ? 

"  I  bless  my  Lord  that  he  is  not  now  in  pain,  but  he 
is  in  total  darkness. 

"  Do  you  think  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  could  have 
saved  him  without  either  masses  or  the  stations  ? 

"  To  this  he  made  no  reply,  but,  in  a  hesitating 
manner,  expressed  a  persuasion  that  the  masses  and 
stations  were  really  necessary. 

"Can  you  read  ? 

"No. 

"  How  do  you  earn  your  bread  ? 

"  I  am  a  brogue-maker. 

"  Is  your  father  or  mother  alive  ? 

"  My  mother  is  alive. 

"  Have  you  walked  from  the  county  of  Gralway  here  ? 

"  I  have,  barefoot. 

"  How  do  you  support  yourself  while  here  ? 

"  I  have  no  means  of  support  but  what  I  get  from 
the  poor  family  of  this  house  ;  they  are  very  good  to 
me. 

"  "Will  you  go  home  as  soon  as  you  have  done  all  the 
stations  ? 

"  I  will  not  be  able,  my  feet  are  so  sore. 

"  He  then  showed  his  feet ;  they  were  very  much 
bruised,  and,  when  he  pulled  up  his  drawers,  his  knees 
were  nearly  in  a  state  of  complete  ulceration." 

Here,  Sir,  is  a  picture  of  the  degradation  produced 
by  Popery,  and  of  the  superstition  encouraged  by  its 
priests  at  the  present  hour.  And  this  is  not  an  exception 
to  their  influence,  but  an  illustration  of  it.  And  black 
and  bad  as  it  is,  it  is  sense  when  compared  with  things 
and  scenes  of  daily  occurrence  under  the  eye  of  the 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  259 

Heathenism  extended.  Break  the  grasp. 

Pope  himself.  And  if  they  do  better  in  this  country, 
it  is  owing,  not  to  their  principles,  but  to  the  civiliza- 
tion amid  which  they  live.  Romanism  is  heathenism 
extended,  and  its  priests  are  no  more  Christian  minis- 
ters than  were  the  priests  of  Jupiter.  So  I  believe,  and 
believing,  I  so  declare.  And  their  influence,  through 
all  its  extent,  is  only  evil,  as  to  the  temporal,  social, 
intellectual,  spiritual,  and  eternal  interests  of  men. 
Their  grasp  upon  the  mind  and  conscience  of  their 
dupes  is  like  that  of  the  priests  of  India  upon  the  poor 
Hindoos,  and  is  retained  in  the  same  way.  To  break 
that  grasp,  the  true  character  of  the  priest  must  be  un- 
folded ;  and,  when  truly  seen,  the  people  will  desert 
them,  and  leave  them  here  and  every  where,  as  in 
Rome,  to  parade  their  vestments,  and  go  through  their 
senseless  ceremonies,  within  the  sacred  inclosures  of 
empty  churches. 

Such,  Sir,  is  my  answer  to  the  question,  What  is  to 
be  done  to  our  Papists  and  priests  ?  We  must  give  light 
to  the  people.  But,  from  the  Pope  to  the  most  illiter- 
ate Irish  mass-monger,  the  priests  are  impostors,  claim- 
ing a  divine  right  to  exercise  their  impositions,  and  to 
damn  us  all,  unless  we  submit  to  them.  Whatever 
they  may  receive  at  the  hand  of  Grod,  they  deserve 
nothing  at  the  hand  of  man  but  to  be  treated  as  im- 
postors. 

With  great  respect,  truly  yours. 


260  kirwan's   letters. 

Mortal  sin.  If  Protestantism  was  so  guilty. 


LETTER    XXVI. 

Strictures  on  Popery  ended. — Popery  to  be  extirpated — its  End  hasten- 
ing.— Friends  of  Freedom  Enemies  of  Popery. — Suspended  Wrath. — 
Religion  essential  to  national  Greatness. — What  true  Religion  is. — 
Nature  of  the  Church  of  God — its  Object  and  End. — Tendency  to  vi- 
carious Religion. — Great  Curse  of  Christendom. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  have  concluded  all  that  I  originally 
intended  to  say  to  you  on  the  subject  of  Romanism, 
and  all  that  I  now  deem  necessary  to  expose  it,  in  its 
theory,  its  government,  its  practices,  its  frauds,  its 
fruits,  and  its  priests.  Believing  it,  as  I  do,  to  be  a 
system  of  huge  iniquity,  framed  like  that  of  Hindoo- 
ism,  which  in  so  many  points  it  resembles,  by  the  cun- 
ning of  ages,  and  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  priest,  I 
have  spoken  plainly  and  honestly.  While  I  know  that, 
in  the  estimate  of  the  priest,  my  sin  is  mortal,  of  so 
deep  a  dye  as  to  defy  the  cleaning  influence  of  holy 
water  or  holy  oil,  I  yet  believe  that  from  you,  and  mul- 
titudes of  others  in  this  land,  my  statements  will  be 
candidly  examined,  and  my  motives  duly  appreciated. 
If  statements  such  as  I  have  made  in  these  letters 
against  Romanism  could  be  made  as  truly  against  any 
one  branch  of  the  Protestant  Church,  they  would  be 
fatal  to  its  existence.  All  the  world  would  unite  in 
hissing  it  to  Purgatory.  And,  unless  I  read  backward 
the  indications  of  Providence,  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  Popery  will  be  thus  treated  by  the  nations  and 


KIRWAN 


'  S     LETTERS.  261 


Extending  its  alliance.  The  worse  the  better. 

people  which  have  been  so  long  crushed  beneath  the 
weight  of  its  intolerable  exactions.  In  this  opinion  I 
am  aware  I  differ  from  many  Protestants,  who  look 
upon  Popery  as  extending  its  alliance  with  the  despot- 
isms of  Europe  for  mutual  support.  But  this  only  tends 
to  hasten  the  event  for  which  the  earth  is  groaning;. 
The  men  are  every  where  multiplying  whose  ardent 
souls  are  thirsting  for  freedom  as  does  the  hunted  hart 
for  the  water-brooks  ;  and  wherever  found,  whether  in 
Rome,  Naples,  Tuscany,  or  Austria,  the  moment  they 
see  that  the  priest  and  the  despot  are  united  to  crush 
them,  they  will  fling  to  the  winds  the  banner  of  revolt 
against  both.  Indeed,  they  are  now  doing  so  by  tens 
of  thousands.  The  tighter  Popery  now  screws  on  her 
fetters,  the  better.  The  flesh  will  quiver  where  the 
pincers  tear  —  the  blood  will  follow  where  the  knife  is 
driven  ;  and  the  more  the  victims  of  its  cruelty  are  mul- 

7  v 

tiplied,  the  nearer  the  hour  when  the  Lord  will  destroy 
it  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming.  We  never  so  feel 
like  crushing  a  serpent  as  when  it  claims  the  right  of 
casting  its  slimy  folds  around  us,  and  of  injecting  its 
deadly  poison  into  our  veins.  Over  Romanism  and  its 
ministers  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  wrath  of  man  are 
alike  suspended  ;  and  their  unblushing  claims,  their 
monstrous  pretensions,  their  wicked  deceptions,  their 
alliance  with  despotisms,  their  readiness  to  use  the 
powers  of  heaven  or  of  hell,  as  may  best  suit  their  pur- 
pose, and  without  the  least  compunctions,  are  only 
hastening  the  hour  when  that  suspended  wrath  shall 
fall  upon  them  and  grind  them  to  powder.  Indeed, 
it  is  among  the  darkest  enigmas  of  Providence  that  they 
have  been  permitted  to  continue  so  long. 


262  kirwan's   letters. 

Things  to  be  considered.  True  religion.  Some  religion. 

Will  you  permit  me,  Sir,  in  this  concluding  letter, 
to  say  to  you,  and  to  the  thoughtful  and  educated 
minds  of  this  land,  a  few  things  which  I  could  not  so 
well  say  any  where  else,  and  whose  bearings  you  will 
readily  see  upon  our  individual,  national,  temporal, 
and  eternal  interests.  I  ask  for  them  the  considera- 
tion which  then  essential  importance  demands.  For 
the  sake  of  distinctness,  and  to  prevent  all  confusion 
of  thought,  I  will  present  what  I  have  to  say  under  a 
few  heads. 

1.  I  wish  you  well  to  consider  the  importance  of 
true  religion  to  national  greatness.  Although  the 
Christian  is  the  religion  established  in  the  minds  of 
the  American  people,  we  have  no  religion  established 
by  law.  And  for  this,  our  great  peculiarity,  the  Chris- 
tian has  far  more  reason  of  thankfulness  than  the  in- 
fidel. It  places  the  religion  of  God  on  a  vantage 
ground  among  us,  which  it  has  nowhere  else.  "While, 
in  the  eye  of  our  law,  the  Jew,  the  Christian,  the  Athe- 
ist, the  Pagan,  are  on  the  same  level  as  to  all  civil 
rights,  we  are  not,  therefore,  an  irreligious  people,  nor 
should  our  men  of  education  and  position  therefore  re- 
gard all  forms  of  religion  or  irreligion  with  the  same 
favor.  Man  is  laid  under  a  constitutional  necessity  to 
have  a  religion  of  some  kind  ;  and  if  he  does  not  em- 
brace the  true,  he  will  a  false  system.  Some  men  may 
be  Atheists,  and  assert  that  ours  is  a  fatherless  world 
— some  may  be  infidels,  and  deny  a  divine  revelation 
— but  the  masses  of  the  people  will  be  neither  Atheists 
nor  infidels  ;  unless  instructed  into  a  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  religion,  they  will  be  the  dupes  of  gloomy  su- 
perstition or  of  burning  fanaticism.     The  evidence  of 


'S     LETTERS.  263 


KIR  WANS     LETTERS 


Mere  negations.  Bulls  of  despots  and  priests. 


all  history  proves  this  statement  true,  as  does  also  the 
present  state  o^the  nations.  Mere  negations  can  not 
satisfy  the  religious  longings  of  our  nature  ;  and  if  we 
know  not  the  true  God,  we  will  have  many  gods — if 
not  the  only  Mediator,  we  will  have  many  mediators — 
if  not  the  way  of  true  worship,  we  wiil  have  will  wor- 
ship— if  not  the  Bihle,  we  will  believe  in  lying  legends, 
old  wives'  fables,  or  any  spiritual  frauds  which  crafty 
and  wicked  priests  may  invent.  And  the  influence  of 
their  religion  upon  individuals  and  nations  must  be 
known  and  read  of  all  men,  and  has  already  been  il- 
lustrated in  these  letters. 

These  things  being  so,  can  you,  Sir,  can  any  man, 
be  indifferent  as  to  the  form  of  religion  which  shall 
finally  obtain  among  the  masses  of  the  people  which 
shall  crowd  this  great  confederacy  of  states  ?  The  re- 
ligion of  this  country  will  give  form  and  direction  to  its 
destiny.  The  Bible  is  the  Magna  Charta  of  human 
liberty,  and  hence  the  bitter  hatred  of  it  by  despot  and 
priest.  Alexander  of  Russia  and  the  Popes  of  Rome 
have  sent  out  their  bulls  to  bellow  every  where  against 
it.  As  the  religion  of  the  Bible  obtains  in  this  land, 
the  passions  of  men  will  be  subdued,  their  principles 
will  be  formed  and  strengthened,  our  laws  will  be  just 
and  humane,  our  people  will  be  intelligent  and  indus- 
trious, the  national  mind  will  be  stimulated,  commerce 
and  the  arts  will  flourish,  and  God  will  make  our  offi- 
cers peace  and  our  exactors  righteousness.  If  forms  of 
religion  not  sanctioned  by  the  Bible  obtain,  the  reverse 
of  all  this  must  be  the  result ;  the  chapters  of  our  he- 
roic history  will  soon  come  to  an  end  ;  and  however 
protracted  may  be  those  which  shall  record  our  decline 


264  kirwan's   letters. 

True  and  cheap  way.  What  religion  is.  How  it  acts. 

and  fall,  decline  and  fall  we  must.  If  Romanism  pre- 
vails here,  nothing  on  earth  can  preverffc  us  from  sink- 
ing as  low  as  the  Romans.  By  motives,  Sir,  like 
these,  I  would  urge  upon  you,  and  upon  all  men  of 
character,  position,  and  influence  in  this  land,  to  cast 
the  entire  weigkfc  of  their  influence  in  favor  of  the  ex- 
tension of  the  religion  of  the  Bible  among  all  our  people. 
It  is  the  true  and  the  cheapest  way,  if  not  the  only  one, 
of  perpetuating  our  institutions  ;  and  to  send  them 
down,  unimpaired,  to  bless  our  posterity,  as  they  are 
blessing  us. 

2.  I  wish  you  and  all  men  to  form  a  definite  idea  of 
what  true  religion  is.  Because  so  often  used  as  synony- 
mous with  sect,  or  with  an  adjective  designating  some 
sect,  untaught  minds  are  very  liable  to  mistake  in  ref- 
erence to  it.  We  speak  of  the  Papal,  of  the  Protestant, 
of  the  Jewish  religion — of  the  Presbyterian,  Methodist, 
Baptist,  Episcopal  religion  ;  and  when  many  consider 
it  at  all,  they  consider  it  objectively,  or  in  the  light  of 
sectarian  controversy.  Now  true  religion  exists  apart 
from  all  this,  and  is  independent  of  all  sects,  parties,  and 
controversies.  It  is  a  right  disposition  of  mind  and 
heart  toward  God,  exercising'  itself  in  all  appropriate 
ivays.  There  never  was,  nor  will  there  ever  be  but 
one  true  religion  in  the  world.  "Whether  existing  in 
the  bosoms  of  angels  or  of  men,  it  is  the  same  in  sub- 
stance. It  is  independent,  as  to  its  essence,  of  all 
priestly  interferences,  and  of  all  social  relations.  It  is 
not  assent  to  certain  theological  opinions — nor  is  it  zeal 
for  certain  peculiarities — nor  is  it  a  rigid  adherence  to 
ritual  observances  ;  it  is  a  right  disposition  toward  Grod, 
manifesting  itself  in  ways  of  beneficence  toward  man. 


KIR  WAX'S     LETT  El:  265 

Bible  view.  Romish  view.  Extent  of  fulsc  views. 

Wherever  that  right  disposition  exists,  and  is  truly 

manifested,  there  true  religion  exists.  That  right  dis- 
position is  of  Grod  ;  and  the  person  that  possesses  and 
manifests  it,  hy  whatever  name  called,  within  what- 
ever temples  he  worships,  is  a  child  of  Grod.  And  all 
church  privileges  and  sacraments  belong  to  such  a  man, 
by  right  of  the  new  disposition  wrought  within  him  by 
the  power  of  Grod. 

This,  Sir,  is  the  Bible  and  the  Protestant  view  of 
true  religion.  Its  seat  is  in  the  heart — its  author  is 
God — its  end  and  life  are  to  do  good  to  men  and  to 
glorify  Grod.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  opposite  is  all 
this  to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Romanism,  which 
resolves  religion  into  submission  to  forms,  sacraments, 
and  ceremonies,  and  to  the  influence  of  priestly  inter- 
ferences, and  which  persecutes  and  anathematizes  none 
so  severely  as  those  who  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  having  no  confidence  in  the  flesh,  and  no  faith 
in  the  priest. 

To  what  a  fearful  extent  has  this  view  of  true  re- 
ligion fallen  out  of  the  minds  of  men  !  The  heathen 
will  return  from  the  most  exhausting  pilgrimages,  and 
from  oft-repeated  ablutions,  to  lie  and  steal,  and  to  com- 
mit all  sin  with  greediness.  At  the  canonical  hour  the 
Arab  will  bow  in  prayer  before  Allah,  and  will  then 
rush  upon  his  victim  and  drive  his  spear  through  his 
heart.  The  Papist  will  rush  from  the  Carnival  to  th  ) 
austerities  of  Lent,  and  from  the  humiliations  of  I 
Friday  to  the  frolics  and  festivities  of  Easter.  The 
Spanish  buccaneer  will  devoutly  Kiss  the  picture  of  the 
Virgin  which  he  carries  in  his  bosom,  and  then,  for  the 
sake  of  a  few  dollars,  plunge  his  stiletto  into  the  bowels 


266  kirwan's   letters. 

Praying  for  a  prize.  Nature  of  the  Church. 

of  his  victim.  And  the  priest  will  go  up  the  steps  of 
Ara  Coeli,  praying  the  Virgin  as  devoutly  to  bless  him 
with  a  prize  ticket  in  the  lottery,  as  to  intercede  with 
her  Son  to  secure  for  him  mercy.  And  even,  Sir,  in 
the  Protestant  world,  the  tendency  of  the  human  heart 
is  too  obviously  manifested  in  the  multitudes  who  re- 
solve true  religion  into  a  mere  formalism.  The  forms 
and  ceremonies  of  religion  are  but  little  worth  when  its 
power  and  truth  are  absent ;  and  when  the  form  and 
ceremony  not  only  take  the  place  of,  but  array  them- 
selves in  hostility  against  its  power  and  truth,  they  are 
only  evil,  and  that  continually.  "Well  will  it  be  for  the 
future  of  America  if  these  truths  are  understood  and 
carried  out  by  its  mind  and  its  men. 

3.  I  wish  you  to  form  a  true  and  definite  opinion  as 
to  the  true  nature  of  the  Church  of  God.  In  the  light 
of  Scripture  and  reason,  such  an  opinion  is  easily  form- 
ed, although,  amid  the  fogs  of  schoolmen,  Papists,  and 
High  Churchmen  of  all  kinds  and  creeds,  to  find  the 
Church  is  as  hopeless  a  task  as  to  find  the  quadrature 
of  the  circle,  or  the  inextinguishable  lamp.  A  Christian 
Church  is  a  company  of  believers  in  Christ  met  togeth- 
er for  worship.  The  entire  Church  of  G-od,  in  its  visi- 
ble form,  is  composed  of  all  who  profess  the  true  re- 
lioion,  and  their  children — in  its  invisible  form,  of  all 
who  truly  believe  and  manifest  a  right  disposition  of 
mind  and  heart  toward  G-od  and  man.  As  the  grains 
of  gold  exist  amid  heaps  of  sand,  so  the  true  people  of 
God  are  found  amid  those  who  make  a  profession  of  his 
name.  It  must  be  quite  obvious  that  those  who  pro- 
fess the  true  religion  are  not  separated  from  the  visible 
Church  by  any  peculiarity  which  they  may  adopt,  not 


KIR  WAN'S    LETTERS.  267 

Visible  Church.  Not  confined.  Schismatics. 

affecting  the  great  principles  of  truth  ;  and  that,  though 
different  branches  of  the  visible  Church  may  take  unto 
themselves  distinctive  names  descriptive  of  their  pe- 
culiarities, they  are  not  therefore  separated  from  the 
great  body  of  believers.  As  the  various  tribes  of  men, 
though  called  by  different  names,  and  speaking  differ- 
ent languages,  and  possessing  peculiar  habits,  belong  to 
the  human  family,  so  the  various  denominations  of  men 
who  profess  the  true  religion,  though  differing  in  many 
things,  form  component  parts  of  the  visible  Church. 
So  that  the  true  Church  is  not  confined  to  the  domains 
of  Popery,  Prelacy,  or  Presbytery  ;  it  is  composed  of  all 
who  receive  and  practice  the  truth.  Pascal  and  Fene- 
lon,  though  Papists — Rutherford,  and  Chalmers,  and 
Wesley,  and  Robert  Hall,  and  Leighton,  and  Wilber- 
force,  and  Grurney,  though  Protestants,  differing  on 
minor  topics,  all  belonged  to  it ;  and  their  true  fame 
and  name  should  be  equally  dear  to  the  entire  Church 
These  views,  which  might  be  expanded  into  a  volume, 
must  be  here  compressed  into  a  paragraph ;  but  I  hold 
them  as  of  vital  importance  to  all  the  great  interests  of 
this  land.  The  Papist  confines  the  Church  to  those 
who  submit  to  the  claims  of  the  Pope,  and  sends  all 
others  to  perdition.  The  Prelatist  of  the  Oxford  stamp 
confines  the  Church  to  those  who  believe  in  the  divin- 
ity of  the  order  of  diocesan  bishops,  and  receive  ordi- 
nances from  them,  and  gives  all  others  over  to  uncov- 
enanted  mercies.  "While  yet  others  would  confine  the 
visible  Church  to  those  who  enter  it  through  the  ordi- 
nance  of  baptism  by  immersion.  In  my  view,  Sir, 
these  sentiments  are  all  false  and  schismatical.  And 
the  mind  and  the  men  of  this  nation  should  rise  in  open 


268  -KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


A  great  principle.  Object  of  the  Church.  Perverted. 

opposition  to  these  schismatics,  whether  theyv  hail  from 
Home  ,or  from  Oxford,  and  who  are  here  seeking,  for 
no  good  end,  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dissension  among  be- 
lievers in  the  Gospel.  There  is  a  great  principle  of 
Christian  charity  that  underlies  all  sectarian  differences, 
and  which  is  of  more  importance  than  all  of  them  to- 
gether ;  and  when  that  principle  rises  to  its  due  im- 
portance, the  priest,  who  never  turns  his  back  to  the 
altar,  or  ascends  the  pulpit  but  to  nourish  his  scalping- 
knife,  will  find  that  he  is  driving  a  poor  business. 

The  most  simple  and  beautiful  institution  in  the 
world  is  the  Church  of  God ;  to  it  God  has  committed 
the  truth  as  contained  in  the  Bible,  and  with  the  com- 
mand to  make  it  known  to  all  men ;  and  its  great  ob- 
ject and  end  are  to  bind  men  to  God  and  to  one  an- 
other, by  the  diffusion  of  the  truth,  by  inducing  men  to 
obey  it,  and  by  teaching  all  men,  where  they  can  not 
see  alike,  to  exercise  toward  each  other  mutual  chari- 
ty. It  is  deeply  to  be  deplored  that  the  Gospel,  which 
is  the  perfect  law  of  liberty,  has  too  often  been  made 
a  yoke  of  bondage ;  that  the  Church,  designed  to  be 
the  joyous  residence  of  all  those  made  free  by  Christ, 
has  been  so  often  converted  into  a  fortress  of  priestly 
intolerance.  Judaizmg  views  of  the  Gospel,  which 
confine  its  blessings  to  certain  tribes — which  give  effi- 
cacy to  ordinances  only  when  administered  by  certain 
hands — low  and  narrow  views  of  the  Church,  which 
confine  its  existence  and  privileges  within  certain  lines, 
and  which  shut  up  all  admission  to  it  save  by  the  doors 
opened  and  guarded  by  certain  porters,  have  too  often 
dashed  the  waters  of  life  with  a  strong  infusion  of 
wormwood  and  gall.     But  this  is  all  the  bitter  fruit  of 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  269 

Old  leaven.  Not  fitted  for  us.  Vicarious  religion. 

Romanism  ;  and  where  these  things  exist  in  Protestant 
churches,  they  are  simply  proof  that  the  old  leaven  has 
not  been  all  cast  out — that  some  of  the  bitter  roots  of 
the  old  tree  remain. 

The  priests,  ministers,  or  people  who  cut  off  from  the 
Church  of  Clod  all  but  themselves,  and  who  exclude 
from  heaven  all  but  those  who  enter  by  their  gate,  are 
those  to  whom  the  least  tolerance  should  be  shown. 
The  man  who  truly  repents  of  sin,  and  believes  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  adopted  into  the  family  of  Grod ; 
and  to  expel  such  a  man  from  the  Church  for  refusing 
submission  to  our  claims,  is  like  a  servant  expelling  a 
child  from  the  house  of  his  father  for  refusing  to  com- 
ply with  his  low  whims.  Such  men  may  do  for  Italy 
or  Oxford,  but  they  should  receive  no  countenance  in 
the  country  of  AYashington. 

4.  Permit  me,  Sir,  in  closing,  to  say  a  word  on  the 
tendency  of  human  nature  to  a  vicarious  religion. 
Truth  is  revealed  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual  mind 
— and  true  religion  has  to  do  with  the  individual  heart, 
and  its  graces  are  to  be  manifested  by  the  individuals 
who  possess  it.  The  object  of  the  ministry  is  to  preach 
the  truth,  and  to  exhort  all  men  to  believe  and  practice 
it.  Neither  the  priest  nor  the  minister  can  repent  for 
others — nor  believe  for  others — nor  secure  meetness  for 
heaven  for  others.  Nor  can  any  man  employ  them 
his  attorney  to  transact  his  individual  business  with 
the  court  of  heaven  for  him.  And  yet  to  all  this  there 
is  a  tendency  in  human  nature  ;  and  upon  this  tend- 
ency Romanism  has  built  up  a  vast  Bystem  of  fraud 
and  falsehood.  "  Why,"  said  a  friend  of  mine  to  a 
highly-cultivated  man  and  eminent  politician,  who  had 


270  K  I  r  w  an's    lette  II  s. 


A.  question  and  answer.  Religion  a  personal  tiling 


been  educated  in  the  Romish  faith,  and  yet  held  it  in 

a  waning  regard,  "  why  do  Papists  trust  so  much  to 

their  priests,  and  pay  so  little   attention  to  what  so 

vastly  concerns  their  eternal  welfare  ?"     His  reply  was 

characteristic.     "  We  have,"  said  he,  "  but  little  time 

to  think  about  religion — and  it  is  hard  to  know  much 

about  it — and  we  let  the  priest  do  the  thing  up  for  us, 

as  he  has  nothing  else  to  do — and  then,  when  we  come 

to  die,  we  send  for  him  to  fix  us  up  to  meet  (rod." 

Here  is  the  whole  matter  revealed  in  a  sentence.    The 

priests  transfer  the  merits  of  one  man  to  another — they 

transfer  the  benefit  of  devotional  exercises  from  one 

man  to  another — indeed,  they  are  the  hired  proxies 

through  whom  the  masses  of  the  people  seek  to  serve 

Grod.     And  they  make  the  people  believe  that  if  they 

only  cling  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 'leave  all  with 

them,  all  will  be  well.      This,  Sir,  is  what  I  mean  by 

a  vicarious  religion,  and  through  which  Papal  priests 

have  ruined  generations,  and  filled  the  world  with  the 

fame  of  their  pious  frauds. 

In  the  great  work,  Sir,  of  saving  the  soul,  neither 
you  nor  I  can  do  anything  by  proxy  nor  by  a  priestly 
attorney.     "VVe  sin  for  ourselves — none  can  sin  for  us  ; 
and  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.     So  wTe  must 
repent  and  believe  for  ourselves — none  can  repent  01 
believe  for  us ;  and  he  that  believe th  in  the  Lord  Je 
sus  Christ  shall  be  saved ;  he  that  confesseth  and  for 
saketh  his  sin,  shall  find  mercy,  and  none  the  less  read 
ily  if  all  the  priests  on  earth  were  in  Paradise  or  Pur 


gatory. 


KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS.  271 

Blessings  resulting  from  these  views. 

Such,  Sir,  are  my  views,  very  briefly,  but  yet  freely 
and  frankly  expressed  to  you  on  the  importance  of  re- 
ligion to  national  greatness — on  the  nature  of  true  re- 
liffion — on  the  nature  of  the  Church  of  God — and  on 
the  tendency  in  human  nature  to  a  vicarious  religion. 
I  believe  them  .worthy  of  your  attention,  and  of  that 
of  all  the  educated  and  influential  minds  of  this  land. 
If  correct,  all  good  men  should  unite  in  supporting  and 
extending  them.  If  adopted  by  all  our  people,  they 
would  extend  the  benign  influence  of  true  religion  over 
them  all — they  would  make  all  true  believers  in  Christ 
to  feel  and  act  as  brethren — they  would  destroy  the 
trade  of  the  priest,  a  result  most  devoutly  to  be  de- 
sired— they  would  extinguish  all  sectarian  jealousies, 
and  induce  all  men  to  live  unto  Grod  for  themselves 
— they  would  make  our  land  a  mountain  of  holiness, 
and  the  dwelling-place  of  righteousness.  They  would 
prevent  for  evermore  the  transplanting  here  of  the 
upas-tree  of  Popery,  under  whose  baneful  shade  noth- 
iiiLr  flourishes  but  despotism,  superstition,  priestly 'in- 
tolerance, ignorance,  beggary,  and  moral  and  social 
corruption. 

My  work.  Sir,  is  done.  My  letters  are  ended.  I 
<•  ist  them  as  bread  upon  the  waters,  with  the  hope  that 
they  may  be  found  after  many  days.  Should  you  bo 
induced  by  them  to  re-examine  the  system  of  Popery, 
and  to  reject  it,  and  to  sel  yourself  in  ;i  cordial  oppo- 
sition T<>  it.  as  have  multitudes  of  the  greatesi  meu  that 
have  ever  adorned  our  race,  you  would  write  your  aarne 
high  up  on  the  pillars  which  support  the  temple  of  our 


27:2  KIR  WAN'S     LETTERS. 


The  great  curse  of  Christendom. 


freedom,  and  you  would  do  much  to  save  our  land,  in 
all  future  time,  from  that  mystery  of  iniquity  which, 
viewed  in  whatever  light,  is  at  this  moment  the  great 
curse  of  Christendom. 

With  great  respect,  yours. 


THE   END. 


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